
fhss C 7? 

Book 



a. 



RHODE ISLAND 



AND 



THE FORMATION OF THE UNION 



BY 

FRANK GREENE BATES 

Sometime Fellow in American History 
Assistant Professor of History and Political Science, Alfred University 



SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS 

FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 

IN THE 

Faculty of Political Science 
Columbia University 



1Hew Utorfe 

1898 






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RHODE ISLAND 



AND 



THE FORMATION OF THE UNION 



BY 

FRANK GREENE BATES 

Sometime Fellow in American History 
Assistant Professor of History and Political Science, Alfred University 



SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS 

FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 

IN THE 

Faculty of Political Science 
Columbia University 



IRew ll)orfe 

1898 



PREFACE 



THIS dissertation embodies the results of investigations 
begun in the American History Seminary of Cornell Univer- 
sity, under the guidance of Professor Moses Coit Tyler, and 
completed in the School of Political Science of ColumbiaUni- 
versity, under Professor Herbert L. Osgood. The work was 
undertaken in order to ascertain the facts of Rhode Island's 
action from 1765 to 1790, and, if possible, to explain the fact 
that Rhode Island so long delayed her ratification of the 
Federal Constitution. The subject was suggested by read- 
ing an address by Mr. Justice Horatio Rogers of the Su- 
preme Bench of Rhode Island, on " Rhode Island and the 
Federal Constitution." 

The materials for such a study are in some directions 
scanty. The printed sources used were largely found in the 
libraries of Cornell and Columbia Universities. The manu- 
script sources were found in the archives of the State of 
Rhode Island, preserved in the State House at Providence, 
and in the collection of the Rhode Island Historical Society. 
Volumes of early laws were consulted at the Lenox Library, 
New York City. Newspaper files which were of constant as- 
sistance were found at the cabinet of the Rhode Island His- 
torical Society, and at the rooms of the American Antiqua- 
rian Society, Worcester, Mass. Citations have been made 
of all authorities employed. Those to manuscripts are fre- 
quently unsatisfactory, as many, especially in the state ar- 
chives, are imperfectly paged. 

Many thanks are due to Professor Moses Coit Tyler for 
123] 



VI PREFACE | I24 

the careful training in historical method to which is due any- 
scientific worth which this study may possess, and to Pro- 
fessor Herbert L. Osgood for advice and suggestions, and 
ior assistance in reading manuscript and proof. 

Acknowledgment should be made to Mr. Wilberforce 
Eames, Librarian of Lenox Library, New York ; the Hon, 
Amos Perry, Secretary of the Rhode Island Historical So- 
ciety; the Hon. Charles P. Bennett, Secretary of State o* 
Rhode Island ; Mr. E. M. Barton, Secretary of the Amer- 
ican Antiquarian Society, and the officials of the libraries of 
Cornell and Columbia universities for their courtesy in giv- 
ing access to the collections in their charge; also to Mr. 
Justice Horatio Rogers for suggestions given personally and 
in his printed address. 

Frank Greene Bates. 

Summit, R. I., July i2> i8g8. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I 

The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 
Nature of the study — Causes, remote and immediate — Settlers 
of Rhode Island — Early Relations with Massachusetts — Orig- 
inal Towns — Patent of 1643 — Internal Strife — Charter of 
1663 — Territorial Claims of Massachusetts — Samuel Gorton 
— Pequot Country — Claims to Narragansett — Eastern and 
Northern Boundaries — Religious Liberty Proclaimed — The 
same Maintained — Rise of Commerce — Rise of Manufac- 
tures — Paper Money — Disastrous Results — Development of a 
Political Sense — Political Questions — Rivalry of Providence 
and Newport — Ward-Hopkins Controversy — Albany Con- 
vention. 

CHAPTER II 

A Period of Harmony 

The Stamp Act — Action of Rhode Island — Revenue Act — 
Non-Importation — Committee of Correspondence — Gaspee 
Commission — Taxed Tea — Boston Port Bill — Response of 
Rhode Island — Continental Congress Suggested — Second 
Continental Congress — Articles of Association — Measures of 
Defense — Loyalists — Governor Wanton Deposed — Loyalists 
at Newport — Rhode Island for Independence — Allegiance 
Renounced — Independence Declared — Steps toward a Cen- 
tral Government — Articles of Confederation Framed — 
Articles in Rhode Island — Amendments Proposed — Articles 
adopted by Rhode Island — Public Domain — Attitude of the 
States — Maryland adopts the Articles of Confederation. 
125] vii 



45 



viii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER III 

A Period of Discord 72 

Condition of Affairs, 1780 — Congress asks power to lay 
Imposts — Responses by States — Rhode Island fails to respond 
— Controversy between Varnum and Howell — Rhode Island's 
Objections — Rhode Island refuses the Grant — Deputation to 
Rhode Island — Action on Howell's Publications — Howell's 
Conduct approved by the Assembly — Character of Howell — 
Motives of Rhode Island — Impost Proposition, 1 783 — Dele- 
gates oppose — Newspaper Comments — The Public Domain 
— Rhode Island rejects the Plan — Lays Duties — Grants re- 
quest of Congress — State of Commerce — Congress asks 
power to regulate Commerce — Conditions in Rhode Island — 
Power over Commerce Granted — Triumph of Commercial 
Party. 

CHAPTER IV 

The Paper Money Era 107 

British occupation of Rhode Island — Efforts of Congress to 
obtain Money — Continental Paper — Refugees from Rhode 
Island — Requisitions of Congress — Effect of Embargo — Forty - 
for-one Act — Finances under Morris — Conditions after British 
Evacuation — Disaffection in Massachusetts, Connecticut and 
New Hampshire — Shays' Rebellion — Malcontents in Rhode 
Island — Demand for Paper — Party Revolution — Emission of 
Paper — Depreciation of Paper — Forcing Acts — Economic 
Effects — Special Courts — Trevett vs. Weeden — Trial of 
Judges — Test Oath — Repudiation — Decline of Paper Money 
Power — Acts for Relief of Debtors — Repeal of Paper Money 
Laws. 

CHAPTER V 

Rhode Island and the Constitution 149 

Weakness of the Confederation — Political Parties in Rhode 
Island — Annapolis Convention — Preparations for Federal 



CONTEXTS i x 

Convention — Rhode Island refuses to appoint Delegates — 
Newspaper Comments — Rhode Island in Disgrace — Work of 
Convention reported to States — Eleven States Ratify — Con- 
stitution referred to Freemen — Refusal to call a Convention 
— Position of Parties — Anti-Federal Victory — Federalist 
Rejoicing — Independence Day at Providence — Failure to 
call Convention — Rhode Island alone — Tariff Debates affect 
Rhode Island — Rhode Island lays a Tariff — Congress de- 
bates Rhode Island Question — Anti-Federalists weaken — 
Revenue Laws Suspended — Lack of Federalist Leaders — 
North Carolina Ratifies — Situation grows Critical — Conven- 
tion called — Struggle in Towns — First Session of Convention 
— State election Anti-Federal — Hints of Coercion — Debates 
in Congress — New Issues in Congress — Non-Intercourse 
Threatened — Instructions of Towns — Second Session of Con- 
vention — Adoption — Bill of Rights, and Amendments Pro- 
posed — Rhode Island enters the Union. 



CHAPTER VI 

Conclusion 201 

Bill of Rights Proposed — Amendments Proposed — Compar- 
ison of Amendments of Different States — Amendments Pro- 
posed by Virginia, North Carolina, and Rhode Island — 
Amendments Proposed by New York and Rhode Island — 
Amendments Proposed by Rhode Island Alone — Conclusions 
from Amendments — Review of Colony's Growth — Formation 
of Traits of Character — Colony's action in War — Causes of 
Defection in 1781 — Economic Conditions lead to Paper 
Money — Causes of Opposition to Constitution — Coercion 
Threatened — General Conclusions. 

Appendix 213 

Bibliography 217 



CHAPTER I 

THE COLONY OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE 
PLANTATIONS 

The course pursued by the State of Rhode Island at the 
time of the formation of the Federal Union forms a distinct 
episode in the history of America. The fact that the people 
of a state should adhere tenaciously to their own opinions to 
the point of denying to themselves all participation in the 
framing of the constitution, and of refusing for a consider- 
able period of time to accept the work of their neighbors, 
indicates that behind it all must have been most powerful 
and far-reaching causes. An historic view of the circum- 
stances attending Rhode Island's adoption of the consti- 
tution, together with an examination of the causes of this 
event, is the purpose of this study. In a study of causes 
it is sometimes possible to distinguish between those 
immediate and those more remote. The line of demarka- 
tion, often difficult to determine, has been drawn in this in- 
stance at the point where Rhode Island first united with 
the other colonies in opposition to the British ministry. 
The immediate causes are found in the circumstances at- 
tending the Revolution, and in a train of events leading 
down to the Federal Convention. Among the remoter 
causes may be included a wide range of facts and tendencies 
which have gone to shape the political system, and the 
character of the people of Rhode Island. 

The settlers of the four towns afterwards united as the 
colony of Rhode Island were refugees. Like the settlers of 
129] 11 



j 2 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [ 1 30 

Massachusetts and Connecticut, they had left the mother 
country to seek a home where they might be free from the 
restraints of the Acts of Uniformity. But the settlements on 
the shore of Massachusetts Bay did not prove to be a sanct- 
uary for freedom of conscience, but rather a nursery for the 
particular form of belief held by the Puritan magistrates. 
The right of becoming a freeman was made dependent on 
membership in one of the churches. It was to this colony 
that Roger Williams came in February, 1631. Soon after his 
arrival the elders and magistrates of Boston, seeking to dic- 
tate to the church at Salem over which Williams had been 
settled as assistant pastor, met with stout resistance. In the 
controversy that followed, Williams asserted the doctrine of 
liberty of conscience. The result was a decree of banish- 
ment, on the charge that he had " broached * * divers new 
and dangerous opinions against the authority of magistrates; 
as also writ letters of defamation both of the magistrates and 
churches here, and that before any conviction, and yet 
maintaineth the same without any retraction.'" After many 
weeks of wandering in the wilderness, and a brief stay at 
Seekonk, Williams with a few companions located at Mo- 
shassuck, which they named Providence. 

The two settlements made on the island of Aquidneck in 
like manner owed their origin to the religious purgings of 
Massachusetts. These settlers were among the minority in 
the Antinomian controversy which raged in 1636 and 1637 
Ten of the nineteen settlers, among them their leader Cod- 
dington, suffered banishment for their opinions. Seeking a 
place to found a colony where they might worship as they 
pleased, they decided to settle within Narragansett Bay. 
The prestige of Anne Hutchinson, and the asylum afforded 
in the new settlement, drew together there many of hetero- 
dox opinions. 

1 Massachusetts Colonial Records, i, 160. 



13 i ] THE COLONY OF RHODE ISLAND ^ 

A third asylum was that founded at Shawomet by Samuel 
Gorton. The spirit that had thrust out Williams and Mrs. 
Hutchinson could not tolerate the mystical views of Gorton, 
a bold and impolitic asserter of his opinions. At Aquid- 
neck, where he stopped after his banishment from Plymouth, 
he found a home for but a brief season, but his restless soul 
could find no permanent abode there, and after a brief so- 
journ at Providence and at Pawtuxet, where his conduct pro- 
voked discord, he settled at Shawomet, afterwards called 
Warwick. 

The people of these settlements, exiled from their fellow- 
countrymen, naturally would cultivate relations with their 
persecutors only in the direst necessity. Had they made 
the attempt they would have met with no response. They 
stood for soul liberty. That fact alone was enough to sepa- 
rate them from their neighbors. An early proof of the com- 
pleteness of this separation is found in the instruction to the 
governor of Rhode Island to "treat with the governor of 
the Dutch to supply us with necessaries, and to take of our 
commodities at such rates as may be suitable." ' 

When rumors of Indian war led the people of Aquidneck 
to apply to Plymouth for a supply of powder, it was refused. 
This was deplored by Winthrop, for it would be, said he, "a 
great inconvenience to the English should they be forced to 
seek protection from the Dutch." ' Danger from the Indians 
led to the contemplation of a union among the New 
England colonies. A petition from Plymouth, Connecticut, 
and the settlements on Narragansett Bay, to Massachusetts 
to unite in dealing with the Indians, while received favorably 
in regard to the two former, was spurned so far as the latter 
was concerned. 1 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, i, 1 26. 
'Winthrop, Hist, of New England, ii, 211. 
5 Massachusetts Colonial Records, i, 305. 



I4 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [j^ 

In 1643 a union of the four colonies, Massachusetts, Con- 
necticut, Plymouth, and New Haven, was formed with the 
express stipulation that no other colony should be admitted. 1 
Neither Providence nor Rhode Island was invited to enter 
the union, nor was a direct request from them destined to 
receive a favorable reply. On the eve of what might have 
proved a serious Indian war, the only concession to be 
gained was permission for Newport to buy one barrel of 
powder. Even this was denied to Providence. Indications 
that the United Colonies would soon substitute aggression 
for simple non-intercourse, was a potent factor in bringing 
about a union under a patent from the home government. 

The band of settlers at Moshassuck had no intention of 
founding a state. Their early organization was that of a 
town, composed of joint proprietors dwelling apart from any 
regularly constituted authority. Their government was a 
pure democracy. The householders met once a week to 
consult on the " common peace, watch and planting." 
"Mutual consent," says Williams, "have finished all matters 
with speed and peace. "' The first written compact entered 
into declared for government by the majority / When a 
modification was found necessary, the sparing hand with 
which power was delegated is remarkable. Five "Dis- 
posers" were elected to have charge of the proprietary and 
governmental interests of the town. These officers were 
elected for the term of three months, at the end of which 
time they were to give an account of their doings to the 
town. Any one aggrieved by the action of the disposers 
might appeal to the town in town meeting. Private disputes 
were settled by arbitration. 4 

1 Acts of the Commissioners of the United Colonies, i, 3. 

2 Narragansett Club Publications, vi, 4. 

3 Rhode Island Colonial Records, i, 14. 

4 Ibid., i, 27. 



j 33] THE COLOXY OF RHODE ISLAND r 5 

The settlers of Aquidncck, while yet at Providence, af- 
fixed their signatures to an agreement whereby they united 
themselves into a body politic to be governed by the laws 
of Holy Writ. 1 A "Judge" was chosen to preside in town 
meeting, where all political affairs were settled. Soon three 
"Elders" were chosen to assist the judge in his judicial 
duties, in framing laws, and in transacting public business ; 
but all their acts were subject to revision by the quarterly 
meetings of the town. 

On the removal of the government to Newport, those who 
remained at Pocasset organized similar forms there. 2 Be- 
coming accustomed to representative government, the settlers 
soon expressly declared that the term of office among them 
should be one year.' In March, 1640, Newport and Ports- 
mouth, or Pocasset, were united under a governor, deputy 
governor and four assistants.' Their government was de- 
clared, in March, 1641, to be a " Democracie or popular 
government."'' 

At Aquidneck, at Providence, and Pawtuxet, Samuel 
Gorton exhibited a contempt for the authority established 
there, prejudicial to good government and not to be toler- 
ated in any well ordered community. Consistent with his 
denial of any authority not recognized by the home govern- 
ment, no organization was effected at Shawomet until the 
arrival of the Patent of 1643. 

So loose was the political system of these settlements that 
dissensions were continually arising within them. It was 
feared that Massachusetts might at any moment begin an 
active policy of persecution on account of the degree of re- 
ligious liberty there. In any case the lack of any legal 
status whatever as a part of the realm of England could but 
be fatal in an extremity. To procure recogniton from the 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, i, 52. 2 Ibid., i, 70. 

8 Ibid., i, 70, 98. Ibid., i, 100. 5 Ibid., i, 112. 



jg RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [134 

king, to secure stability at home, and to raise a bulwark 
against the encroachments of her neighbors, Williams was 
sent to England to secure a charter. In 1644, Williams re- 
turned with a patent, obtained from the revolutionary gov- 
ernment in England, for " The Incorporation of Providence 
Plantations in the Narragansett Bay in New England." 

This patent united the towns in an incorporation and gave 
them jurisdiction over the territory bounded on the south by 
the sea, on the west by the Pequod river and country, on the 
east by Plymouth, and on the north by Massachusetts. The 
strength of the spirit of local independence on these communi- 
ties, together with the fear of rousing Massachusetts to active 
opposition, delayed organization under the patent until 1647. 
The frame of government was constructed by the whole 
people in general assembly. Providence, on account of its re- 
moteness, chose ten delegates to act for her; but though 
represented by delegates, it is probable that a large number 
of her freemen attended. In consenting to unite her destiny 
with that of the other towns, Providence retained for herself 
full authority in town affairs, to elect and to empower officers 
responsible to the town, to try all cases not reserved for a 
general court of trials, and to enforce all executions. Their 
desire was to avoid all mingling of general and town func- 
tions. 1 Neither at Portsmouth nor at Newport is there any 
evidence that delegates were chosen. 

By no patent in English colonial history were so few 
restrictions imposed upon the grantees as by this. Full gov- 
ernmental powers were granted, with the single restriction 
that the " laws, constitutions and punishments " must con- 
form to the laws of England, " so far as the nature and con- 
stitution of the place will admit." Under this carte blanche 
the assembly proceeded to institute a representative govern- 
ment consistent with the democratic precedents furnished 

1 Staples, Annals of Providence, 62. 



! 3 5 1 THE COLONY OF RHODE ISLAXn x j 

by the towns. The general officers, a president, four 
assistants, a general recorder, and a treasurer were to be 
chosen annually at a " General Court of Election." All 
freemen were made electors. Such as could not attend 
should send their votes sealed to the assembly. Each town 
should present two candidates for assistant, and the one 
from each town having the highest number of votes was to 
be declared elected. 

In the method prescribed for enacting laws both the 
popular initiative and the referendum were introduced. 
Any town might in town meeting propose a law, which must 
then be sent to the other towns for consideration. Next it 
was considered by a " General Court " of six members from 
each town. If a majority concurred, it was to stand until 
the next " General Assembly of all the People " for con- 
firmation. The general court might propose measures 
which must be confirmed by the towns and by the assembly. 
Judicial power was vested in a " General Court of Trials" 
to be held twice annually, by the president and assistants. 
Town affairs were to be administered by six men called the 
"Town Council." Seldom has there been seen a more per- 
fect embodiment of the principle which the founders had in 
mind when they declared their government to be " Demo- 
cratical." ' 

But as is usually true in states in which the idea of popu- 
lar government finds full development, internal dissensions 
were continually threatening the existence of the state itself. 
The submission of certain of the men of Pawtuxet to Massa- 
chusetts led to constant complications at Providence. At 
Rhode Island, Coddington and Nicholas Easton were at the 
head of two bitterly opposing parties. In September, 1648, 
Coddington presented to the United Colonies a request that 
the people of Rhode Island might be received into alliance, 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, i, 156. 



RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION 



[136 



offensive and defensive, with them. 1 This petition, which 
was presented without the knowledge of Providence, and 
against the wishes of a large party on Rhode Island, had it 
been successful, would have worked the destruction of the 
colony. Absorption would inevitably have followed alli- 
ance. Fortunately for the future of the Rhode Island 
colony, the petition was rejected by the commissioners. 2 

In August, 165 1, Coddington returned from a visit to 
England, bringing a commission creating him governor for 
life of Rhode Island and Conanicut. 3 The whole colony was 
thrown into consternation. Plymouth was advised to assert 
her claim to Providence and Warwick. These two towns, 
however, thanks to their self-governing instincts, held fast to 
the colonial organization, and together with the anti-Cod- 
dington faction in Rhode Island, sent Roger Williams and 
John Clarke to England to secure a revocation of Codding- 
ton's commission.* In October, 1652, the desired revoca- 
tion was issued from the office of the Secretary of Stated 

Development in material prosperity and in population, as 
well as experience in the past, gave rise to thoughts of a 
more elaborate frame of government. The restoration of 
Charles II, moreover, made it necessary that the frame of 
government should have royal confirmation. The recep- 
tion, in 1663, of a royal charter, placed the colony on a 
more secure foundation. The new government was organ- 
ized on a plan only so much less democratic than before as 
the growth of the colony demanded. Power was given to 

1 Hazard, State Papers, ii, 99; Acts of the Commissioners of the United Colo- 
nies, i, no. 

2 Acts of the Commissioners of the United Colonies, i, 1 10. 

3 Rhode Island Historical Society s Collections, iv, 99. 

4 Narragansett Club Publications, vii, 212, 228; 1 Massachusetts Historical So- 
ciety's Collections, vii, 292; Hazard, State Papers, ii, 198; Backus, Hist, of the 
Baptists, i, 269. 

5 Narragansett Club Publications, vi, 236. 



T37] THE COLONY OF RHODE ISLAND 13 

elect officials and to make laws, with the restriction that the 
laws "be not contrary and repugnant unto, but as near as 
may be, agreeable to the laws of this our realm of England, 
considering the nature and constitution of the place and 
people there." The "general officers," consisting of a gov- 
ernor, deputy-governor, and ten assistants, together with a 
secretary and treasurer, were to be chosen annually "by 
such greater part of the freemen as are there assembled." 
It was the duty of the governor to call general assemblies,, 
fill vacancies and see that the laws were executed. All gen- 
eral officers were liable to impeachment. 

The legislative power was vested in a "General Assem- 
bly," to consist of the governor, deputy-governor, assistants, 
and deputies elected semi-annually by the towns. The 
assembly was empowered to fix the times and places of its 
meetings, admit persons as freemen of the colony, create 
offices and appoint officers of administration, make laws, 
establish courts, regulate the time and manner of holding 
elections, define the qualifications of electors, define the 
boundaries of towns, prescribe punishments, and grant 
pardons. 

By act of May, 1666, judicial powers were vested in a 
general court of trials, to consist of the governor, deputy- 
governor and assistants.' This court was to sit twice a year 
to hear and to determine all causes. At the reorganization of 
the courts in 1729, this " Superior Court of Judicature, 
Court of Assize, and General Gaol Delivery " was given 
appellate powers only.' 

The most remarkable feature of this charter is the pre- 
ponderant influence given to the general assembly. It was 
the real source of all power. Not only did it exercise the 
usual legislative powers, but it assumed the functions of the 
executive in the appointment of all officers not directly 

1 Acts and Laws of Rhode Island, 1 7 19, 15. * Ibid., 1730, 190. 



20 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION Tjog 

elected by the people, and held the sole pardoning power. 
The assembly was in turn kept strictly in subordination to 
the popular will by frequent elections. To the governor 
remained only a few ministerial powers. He was not a 
branch of the legislature, but simply a member. No veto 
was given him. When, in 1731, the question was raised in 
connection with paper money legislation, the crown officers 
decided that the charter conferred on the governor no 
power of veto. 1 

It was quite in harmony with the ideas of the times that 
the supreme judiciary should consist of the chief executive 
officers. But in Rhode Island they were made so by the 
legislature, not by the charter. Both the manner of their 
appointment and the tenure of their office made them 
closely responsible to the representatives of the people. 
On the transfer of appellate jurisdiction to a chief judge and 
four associates, these officers were chosen annually by the 
legislature. From the close association of these depart- 
ments was to evolve an assumption of authority by the 
assembly which was to endure longer than the charter 
itself. 

When Roger Williams attempted to settle at Seekonk he 
was informed by Plymouth that, though he was then tres- 
passing on the jurisdiction of that colony, if he would but 
remove across the river he would be upon free land. This 
advice having been followed, he supposed that no one but 
the king claimed jurisdiction over his lands at Moshassuck. 
Coddingon's company, learning that Sowams, where they 
first proposed to settle, was in the domain of Plymouth, 
selected the island of Aquidneck, which was then acknowl- 
edged to be beyond the boundaries of that colony. Only 
seven years later, however, a magistrate was sent to Rhode 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, iv, 458-461. 



j^] THE COLONY OF RHODE ISLAND 2 \ 

Island to forbid the existing government to exercise author- 
ity there. 1 

The sojourns of Gorton at Providence and Pawtuxet were 
short and stormy. The conduct of this man, who was "be- 
witching and bemaddening poor Providence," i led four of 
the inhabitants of Pawtuxet to place themselves under the 
jurisdiction of Massachusetts, there to remain until 1658. 
This action was followed by a formal announcement by 
Massachusetts of her protectorate over the men of Pawtuxet, 
and a general denial by Gorton of that colony's assumption. 3 
The protectorate of Massachusetts was based on a theory 
that, whenever any person submitted to her jurisdiction, her 
authority at once extended over the lands of that person, 
though they lay outside her chartered limits. Gorton soon 
removed to Shawomet, where his party purchased a tract 
from Miantinomi, chief sachem of the Narragansetts. 

The dissatisfaction of Pomham, a subordinate chieftain 
who held Shawomet and who denied the sale to Gorton, led 
to his submission of himself and his lands to Massachusetts. 
That colony at once took up the cause of Pomham against 
Gorton. A long controversy ensued. Shawomet was in- 
vaded and Gorton and his followers were taken as captives 
to Boston, where after imprisonment they were banished 
and forbidden to return on pain of death.' On his return to 
Shawomet, Gorton was chosen to carry to England the sub- 
mission of the Narragansetts to the king, and at the same 
time to prosecute the case against Massachusetts. 5 In the 
meantime the general court of that colony granted ten 

1 Wintbrop, Hist. 0/ .Yew Lingland, ii, 270. 
5 Xarragansett Club Publications, vi, 141. 
3 Force, Tracts, iv, 19. 

* Rhode Island Historical Society's Collections, ii, 255 ; Hazard, State Papers, 
ii, 10. 

b Rhode Island Colonial Records, i, 134. 



22 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [140 

thousand acres of the Shawomet lands to settlers, but the 
claims now put forth by Plymouth to the same territory 
prevented a settlement. 1 The result of Gorton's mission 
was an order from the Commissioners of Plantations restor- 
ing to the Shawomet settlers their lands, and forbidding 
Massachusetts to assume authority over them." Already 
Williams had returned with the patent of 1643, and the in- 
terests of all the towns were soon to be blended in a com- 
mon cause. 

On August twenty-seventh, Massachusetts announced that 
she had received a patent, under date of December tenth, 
1643, granting to her all of Rhode Island west of Narragan- 
sett Bay, especially mentioning the Narragansett Country.' 
The origin of this document is obscure, and by the friends 
of Rhode Island has been declared to be a forgery. That 
Massachusetts was not certain of its legality is indicated by 
the fact that it was not produced until it appeared probable 
that the Rhode Island settlements were about to organize 
under their patent. Moreover, had the claim rested on a 
firm basis, a colony with the instincts of Massachusetts 
would have spared no effort to enforce it. 

Thus it appears that, before any authorized government 
was instituted in the colony, its whole territory had been 
claimed by one or both of its eastern neighbors. Against 
these claims the towns struggled singly until 1647. 

The claims of Connecticut and Massachusetts to the Pe- 
quod country were adjusted in 1658, by fixing the Mystic 
River as the boundary between the two colonies, completely 

x Massachusetts Colonial Records, ii, 128; 1 Massachusetts Hist. Soc. Collec- 
tions, i, 276. 

2 Rhode Island Colonial Records, i, 367; Rhode Island Hist. Soc. Collections, iv, 
195; Winthrop, Hist, of New England, ii, 282. 

:< f r assachusetts Colonial Records, iii, 49. 



I4I 1 THE COLONY OF RHODE ISLAND 2 $ 

ignoring Rhode Island. 1 In this tract, lands were granted to 
settlers as early as 1649. These were held by Rhode Island 
to be within her territory. In violation of Rhode Island law 
Humphrey Atherton and others, not citizens of the colony, 
bought large tracts at Quidnesett and Namcook in the 
Narragansett country. 2 This purchase, which depended for 
its validity on the Narragansett Patent, led to a remonstrance 
and preparations to contest the case before Parliament. On 
account of the injuries inflicted on the Mohegans, the United 
Colonies condemned the Narragansetts to pay a fine. Their 
lands were pledged as security for payment. This mortgage 
having been assumed by Atherton, the lands were forfeited 
to him in default of payment. The occupation of the same 
territory under the Pettiquamscut purchase by Rhode Island 
authority led to conflicts in that region. Certain persons 
from Newport about the same time began a settlement at 
Pawcatuck, and soon came in conflict with Massachusetts 
authority established there. 

The granting of the charters of Rhode Island and Con- 
necticut gave a new aspect to the whole question. Under 
the terms of their charter, which granted to them the terri- 
tory on the western side of Narragansett Bay, Connecticut 
assumed jurisdiction over the whole territory. The Rhode 
Island charter, granted soon after, fixed the western bound- 
ary at the Pawcatuck River, with the express provision that 
nothing in the Connecticut charter should be construed to 
conflict with this later one. The results of arbitration be- 
tween the colonial agents embodied in the Rhode Island 
charter were repudiated by Connecticut, paving the way to 
a boundary dispute of two centuries in length. 

Connecticut at once proceeded to extend her government 
over the Narragansett Country and was vigorously opposed 

1 Acts of the Commissioners of the Unittd Colonies, ii, 209. 
'' 3 Mnss. Hist, Soc. Collations, i, 213. 



24 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION \lA 2 

by Rhode Island. In March, 1665, the royal commission 
headed by Col. Richard Nicolls, appointed to subjugate the 
Dutch settlements, and to settle all questions of appeal, jur- 
isdiction, and boundary, after hearing the representations 
of the colonies interested, erected the Narragansett Country 
into a province called "King's Province," over which the 
governor and assistants of Rhode Island were made magis- 
trates. This gave that colony for the time being jurisdiction 
over the disputed territory.' In October, 1664, 2 and again 
in 1670/ conferences were held on the subject between rep- 
resentatives of the two colonies, but without result. In the 
meantime, there was a continual struggle by Rhode Island 
to maintain her authority against the incursions of Connecti- 
cut. Violence was repeatedly resorted to on both sides. 
Such was the condition of affairs until King Philip's War 
engaged the attention of both parties. 

At the close of the war the members of the Atherton 
Company who continued to incline to the side of Connecti- 
cut, opened the whole question again. A second royal com- 
mission, in its report of October, 1683, rejected the claim of 
Rhode Island, and recommended that the question be de- 
cided by the home government in favor of Connecticut.* 
Since the Privy Council took no action on the report, the 
work of the commission was of no effect. In 1699, at the 
command of Lord Bellomont, the dispute was submitted to 
the authorities in England, with recommendations from 
Bellomont highly adverse to Rhode Island. Nothing came 
of this attempt at settlement. During the whole period 
hostilities were carried on upon the disputed territory. 
Officers on both sides were arrested in the performance of 
their duties. Taxes laid by each side were resisted by the 
other. 

' Rhode island Colonial Records, ii, 93. 

3 Ibid., ii, 50. 3 Ibid., ii, 306. * Ibid., iii, 140. 



I4 3] THE COLONY OF RHODE ISLAND 25 

Becoming fearful that the reference of the dispute to Eng- 
land might result in the loss of both charters, commissioners 
were appointed by both sides, in 1702, to settle the ques- 
tion.' Their conference resulted in the concession by Con- 
necticut of all that was claimed by Rhode Island, fixing the 
boundary substantially as later conferences have confirmed 
it.- But though her commsssioners had reached an agree- 
ment, Connecticut delayed the execution of the agreement 
until a movement was made to lay it before the king. The 
case was laid before the Board of Trade in February, 1723, 
and in February, 1727, the final decree came from the king. 3 

The eastern boundary, though never the subject of such 
fierce contention as that on the west, was destined to wait 
even longer for settlement. It has already been noted that 
Plymouth, which at first made no claim to the islands in 
Narragansett Bay, in 1644 laid claim to Aquidneck. In 
1645 a magistrate of Plymouth laid claim to Shawomet. In 
May, 1659, the assembly appointed commissioners to de- 
termine the eastern boundary, but without result/ By the 
charter of 1663 the eastern limit of the colony was fixed at 
three miles east of Narragansett Bay. An attempt to fix 
this line failed owing to the refusal of Plymouth to participate. 
In spite of the charter, in 1682, Plymouth laid claim to Hog 
Island, and in 1684, extended the claim to the island of 
Aquidneck."' The royal commission of 1664 gave Plymouth 
jurisdiction to the bay, pending the decision of the king. 
By the Massachusetts charter of 1691, Plymouth was an- 
nexed to that colony, and the eastern boundary became the 
concern of Massachusetts. In 1734 Rhode Island in a peti- 
tion to the king asserted her right to the eastern shore of 

1 Arnold, Hist, of Rhode Island, ii, 10. 
: Rhode Island Colonial Records, iii, 474. 
'/*/'</., iv, 370. * Ibid., i, 409. 

5 Arnold, Hist, of Rhode Island, i, 477. 



2 6 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION \^AA 

the bay. The case having gone through the regular process 
of investigation, an Order in Council in November, 1738, de- 
creed that the commissioners should determine the line. 
The commission sat on April 7, 1741, 1 and decided in favor 
of Rhode Island, giving to her five towns on the eastern 
border. On appeal from both parties, the decision was con- 
firmed by the king in council, in May, 1746. 2 

The same commission fixed the line on the north east, 
which was more closely connected with the northern boun- 
dary question. This latter was opened by the town of 
Mendon when it was feared that under the original deed of 
Providence, Rhode Island might claim a part of that town. 
Ineffectual measures were taken to settle this question in 
1705 and 1706/ About this time an armed force from 
Mendon entered Rhode Island and carried off several prison- 
ers to Boston. Such acts of violence led to further attempts 
at settlement, but it was not until 1746 that this was decided 
by an Order in Council. 4 

These boundary disputes of Rhode Island, though seem- 
ingly petty and barren of interest, were a most potent factor 
in shaping the character of her people. 

Were each state called upon to indicate its particular con- 
tribution to the institutions of America, Rhode Island would 
point unhesitatingly to the principle of liberty of con- 
science. Though the honor of the first enunciation of this 
principle is disputed by Maryland, Rhode Island has suc- 
cessfully maintained her position. Roger Williams found 
that in Massachusetts religious liberty was no more a fact 
than it was in England. The first charge made against him 
before the general court was that he held the doctrine 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, iv, 586-7. 

2 Arnold, Hist, of Rhode Island, ii, 134. 

3 Rhode Island Colonial Records, iii, 528. 

4 Arnold, Hist, of Rhode Island, ii, 134. 



!45] THE COLONY OF RHODE ISLAXn 27 

" that the magistrates ought not to punish the breach of the 
first table otherwise than in such cases as did disturb the 
civil peace." The settlement at Providence was an em- 
bodiment of Williams' idea. In the first written compact 
remaining, that signed by the second comers, the agreement 
was to be governed by the majority " only in civil things." 2 
In the form of government which succeeded the more prim- 
itive original organization in 1640, it was resolved "as for- 
merly hath been the liberties of the town, so still to hold 
forth liberty of conscience." At Rhode Island, the same 
" General Court of Election " which declared the govern- 
ment to be a democracy, also declared that " none be ac- 
counted a delinquent for doctrine : provided it be not 
directly repugnant to the government or laws established." 4 
Under the patent of 1644, which was silent on the subject 
of religion, the declaration of religious liberty went hand in 
hand with that of political freedom. 5 When in the absence 
of laws on the subject, complaints of Sabbath breaking were 
brought in, the assembly refused to make any law on the 
subject. 6 An opportunity for putting into practice the prin- 
ciples so persistently maintained was offered on the arrival 
in Rhode Island of certain Quakers, fleeing from persecution 
in Massachusetts. In reply to a letter from Massachusetts 
urging the banishment of the Quakers, Rhode Island said 
that no law existed in the colony under which persons could 
be molested in matters of religion. Though the extrava- 
gant acts of the Quakers were obnoxious to the people of 
the colony, yet they resolved to adhere to their fundamental 
principle, so long as it did not jeopardize civil order. 7 

1 Winthrop, Hist, of A'ew England, i, 193. 

2 Rhode Island Colonial Records, i, 14. 
find, i, 28. ' find., \, 113. 

* Ibid., i, 156. ,; Ibid., i, 279. 

7 Rhode Island Colonial Records, i, 376. 



2 8 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [ I4 6 

When, as on this occasion, the maintenance of soul liberty 
seemed to threaten the structure of civil society, the colony 
had for its guidance that letter of Williams to the town of 
Providence in which the state is likened to a ship which 
puts to sea bearing men of different faiths. He declared 
that, while these men might not be compelled to attend the 
ship's prayers or be restrained from offering their own, yet 
the commander must have authority, not only over the 
direction of the voyage, but over peace and justice among 
those on board. In such a case it could not be maintained 
that there should be no commander because all were not of 
the same faith. 1 

With this principle well established, the agent at the royal 
court was able to procure in the patent of 1663 a provision, 
" that no person within the said colony, at any time here- 
after, shall be anywise molested, punished, disquieted, or 
called in question, for any difference in opinion in matters of 
religion, and do not actually disturb the civil peace of our 
said colony." 2 The marked contrast between this provision 
and the rights not only of the other colonies, but of English- 
men at home, makes this grant a notable one in the history 
of English imperial government. 

The course of legislation during the first half of the 
eighteenth century indicates that the principle in question 
was held no less sacred in that day than it had been by the 
founders of the colony. Nothing was more in opposition to 
this idea than that any one sect should be favored above 
another. To guard against such a contingency, the assem- 
bly, in 1 716, in an "Act for Perpetuating the Liberty of 
Conscience " granted by the charter, and for preventing any 
church " from endeavoring for preeminence or superiority of 
one over the other, by making use of the civil power for the 

1 Narragansett Club Publications, vi, 278. 

2 Charter of Rhode Island. 



j 4 7 1 THE COLONY OF RHODE ISLAND 29 

enforcing of a maintenance for their respective ministers," 
passed an act providing that whatever salaries any congre- 
gation might see fit to provide for their ministers, should 
" be raised by a free contribution, and no other way." 1 

The continued presence of the Quakers had made itself 
felt at different times in the political as well as in the reli- 
gious life of the people, particularly at the time of King 
Philip's War. The militia laws consequent on the partici- 
pation by the colony in the wars against Spain and France, 
imposed upon the people of that persuasion duties incom- 
patible with their belief. To relieve them, an act was passed 
in June, 1730, "for the relief of tender consciences, and to 
prevent their being burdened with military duties." 2 The 
preamble of the act relates that, by the operation of the 
existing militia laws, certain persons " have suffered great 
damages, and excessive charges have accrued to them by 
having their goods distrained and publicly sold, contrary to 
that freedom and liberty of conscience by the charter 
granted to all persons of a peaceable and quiet behavior." 
Hence it was therein enacted " that no constraint shall be 
laid upon the conscience of any person whatsoever, by force 
of any act or law for the keeping up or regulating the 
militia within this colony, nor shall any person be compelled 
to bear arms, or learn or exercise himself in the art of war, 
whose principles are, that the same is inconsistent with the 
doctrine of the gospel." Six years later this law was re- 
pealed. 3 

Again, in an act " for more effectually putting the colony 
into a proper posture for defense," on the occasion of the 
outbreak of the war with Spain in 1740, it was provided that, 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, iv, 206; Acts and Laivs of Rhode Island, 
1719, 80. 

1 Acts and Laws of Rhode Island, Supplement to Digest of 1730, pt i, 217. 
i Ibid., pt. ii, 277. 



30 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION \\\^> 

in case of an alarm, persons taking an oath that they could 
not conscientiously bear arms, might be excused. Such 
persons were, however, held liable to do service as aids, 
scouts and watches. 1 Again, in the year 1744, a law was 
passed for the relief of Quakers, similar in its provisions to 
that of 1730. 2 

But while the colony was thus reiterating the principle of 
religious freedom, there appeared upon the statute books a 
law totally inconsistent with her professions. The digest of 
laws printed in 1716 contains among those passed at the 
first session of the general assembly after the reception of 
the charter, an act that " all men professing Christianity, and 
of competent estates, and of civil conversation, who acknowl- 
edge and are obedient to the civil magistrates, though of 
different judgments in religious affairs, Roman Catholics only 
excepted, shall be admitted freemen, and shall have liberty to 
choose and be chosen officers in the colony, both military 
and civil." 3 

Investigation has proven that the expressions " professing 
Christianity," and " Roman Catholics only excepted," do 
not appear in the original act of 1663-4, nor does it in the 
manuscript digest of 1705. From this and other evidence 
it appears that these provisions never received legislative 
sanction until they were unintentionally accepted by a gen- 
eral act confirming the digest of 1730. Not a single instance 
appears of the provisions having been enforced. From this 
it must be concluded that, though on the statute book until 
1783, in spirit this restriction never existed. 4 

The colony's favorable situation for trade by sea was 
appreciated by the first settlers. Commercial relations were 

1 Acts and laws of Rhode Island, 1745, 234. 

2 Ibid., 293. 3 Ibid., 1719, 3. 

4 Acts and Laws of Rhode Island, 17 19, Introduction, 14; Rhode Island His- 
torical Tracts, ser. 2, i. The act reappears in the digests of 1730 and 1767. 



149] THE COLONY OF RHODE ISLAND 31 

maintained during the seventeenth century, both with the 
Dutch and with some of the English colonies. Commerce 
did not rise to importance, however, until about the be- 
ginning of the next century, nor were vessels owned in the 
colony to any extent before that time. A report to the 
Board of Trade in 1680 shows that the entire shipping of the 
colony then consisted of a few sloops. 1 There were no mer- 
chants worthy of the name, and the small trade which ex- 
isted consisted of exports of horses and provisions. The 
awakening of the spirit of commerce throughout the British 
dominions became perceptible at the dawn of the eighteenth 
century. During the years preceding 1708, the shipping of 
the colony increased from four or five vessels to twenty- 
seven, most of which hailed from Newport.' This increase 
was ascribed both to the growing taste for the sea among 
young men, and to the superior speed of the Rhode Island 
vessels, which enabled them more easily to escape their 
enemies. Shipbuilding became an important industry after 
the revolution of 1688. Down to the year 1708 eighty-four 
vessels were built in the colony. The English trade at that 
time consisted of imports to the value of £2000 annually, 
through the port of Boston. Direct trade was carried on 
with the other colonies, the West Indies, Madeira, and 
Surinam. To the tropical countries were exported lumber 
and farm and dairy products, in return for sugar, molasses, 
and dyestuffs. English goods were frequently obtained 
through this channel. With specie, molasses, and sugar 
brought from the south, and with rum distilled in the 
colony, the Rhode Island trader carried on a thriving busi- 
ness with the other colonies, bringing back their products 
for exportation. By the year 1731 direct trade was estab- 
lished with England, Holland, and the Mediterranean.' The 

1 Arnold, Hist, of Rhode Island, i. 448. * Rhode Island Colonial Records, iv, 57. 
Arnold, Hist, of Rhode Island, ii, 106. 



32 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [^o 

profits of the carrying trade had by the year 1740 swelled 
the fleet trading to Europe, Africa, and the West Indies to 
one hundred and twenty sail. 1 Dye woods were now car- 
ried from the West Indies by the Rhode Island traders to 
England, where they were exchanged for English goods 
intended for colonial use. Some vessels had found a source 
of profit in the slave trade between Africa and the West 
Indies. As the years passed commerce grew apace. Dur- 
ing the year 1763, one hundred and eighty-two vessels 
cleared from Newport for foreign voyages, while three hun- 
dred and fifty-two sailed in the coastwise trade. These, 
together with the fisheries, gave employment to two thou- 
sand men. 

As the colony grew, Newport was no longer the sole seat 
of trade. From the year 1730 onward Providence claimed 
an increasing share of commerce. To such an extent did 
the shipping of that port increase, that between 1756 and 
1764 the number of vessels belonging there which were lost, 
amounted to sixty-five. The town itself was building up. 
In 175 1, a cargo of lumber sent to London direct was ex- 
changed for dry goods which supplied three new stores in 
town. Intercourse with the country towns demanded better 
highways. Heretofore the post road from Pawtucket to 
Westerly was the only exception to the general neglect to 
which the highways were condemned. In 1734 a road to 
Plainfield was provided." The next year provision was made 
for bridges in Scituate. 3 From that time on, there frequently 
appear appropriations for highway purposes in various parts 
of the colony. 

It was near the close of the seventeenth century that the 
colonial manufactures became of sufficient importance to 
rouse the opposition of the manufacturers in the mother 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, v, 8. 
1 Ibid., iv, 492. 3 Ibid., iv, 512. 



!5i] THE COLONY OF RHODE ISLAND 33 

country. The laws of 1699, 1732, and 1750, in restraint of 
colonial manufactures, sought to crush the manufacture of 
woollens, hats and iron, as well as to place heavy restrictions 
on apprenticeship in those industries. In spite of oppres- 
sive legislation, various industries grew up in Rhode Island. 
Iron-works were established with marked success at Poto- 
womut. The fisheries and the foreign trade led to extensive 
manufactures at Newport. At one time there were no less 
than seventeen factories for the manufacture of sperm oil 
and candles. Five rope walks were in operation. Three 
sugar refineries handled the imports of that article from the 
West Indies, while twenty-two distilleries contributed rum to 
the return cargoes. 1 

The part taken by the colonies in the wars between Eng- 
land and France between 1690 and 1763, imposed upon them 
a heavy debt. In their efforts to relieve themselves of this 
burden, recourse was had in many colonies to emissions of 
paper money. Massachusetts led the way in 1690, followed 
in 1709 by New York and New Jersey. Rhode Island fol- 
lowed in 1710, Pennsylvania in 1723, and Virginia in 1755. 
During the years 1710 and 171 1, Rhode Island issued 
£13300.' This was followed in the year 1715 by the issue 
of a bank of £4000 in paper.' The banks differed from the 
other issues of paper in that they were for larger amounts 
and were loaned to the people for a term of years on landed 
security. The ordinary issues were for small amounts and 
were issued to meet the immediate demands on the treasury. 
A second bank in 1721' was followed by a third in 1728. 5 
One emission created the demand for the next. Thinking 

Arnold, Hist, of Rhode Island, ii, 300. 
1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, iv, 93, 102, 106, 123, 12S; Acts and Laws of 
Rhode Island, 1 7 19, 60-63. 
* Acts and Laws of Rhode Island, 1719, 75-79. ' Ilnd., 1730, 115. 
1 Ibid., 1730, 152. 



24 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [l$ 2 

men saw only disaster as the inevitable result of adherence 
to this course, but their efforts to stem the torrent were of 
no avail. The issue of ^60000 in 1 73 1 ,' and the defeat of 
the sound money party were followed by other banks in 
1733/ 173%* 1740/ I743-4. 5 and 1750. 6 The total face 
value of the nine banks issued prior to 1760 was ^"465,000, 
though it must be remembered that some was issued when 
paper was much depreciated, and that maay of the bills 
never circulated at their face value. Throughout the period 
from 1 7 10 to 1760, bills were frequently emitted for the im- 
mediate use of the treasury. A report made in 1749 gives 
the amount of bills issued for that purpose at ,£312,300, of 
which there remained in circulation «£i35,335. 7 

The occasion for the issue of paper was first of all the 
expense of the French wars, both in contributing to the fit- 
ting out of expeditions, and in putting the colony in a state 
of defense. To this was added the plea that there was an 
insufficient medium of exchange to meet the demands of 
trade, wherefore commerce was decaying and the farmers 
were discouraged. Among the reasons assigned for the 
issue of the bank of 1 73 1 was a desire to promote hemp 
raising, and the whale and cod fisheries, by a bounty. The 
bank of 1733 had for its object the building of a pier at 
Block Island. 

As the earlier banks became payable great difficulty was 
experienced in making collections. The relief of debtors 
then became an avowed object of the paper issues. But in 
spite of this, collections were made with the utmost diffi- 
culty. In 1 741, in Providence alone, five hundred and 

1 Acts and Laws of Rhode Island, Supplement to Digest of 1730, pt. i, 231. 

2 Jbid., Supplement to Digest of 1730, pt. ii, 252. 3 Ibid., 1744-45, 211. 
* Ibid., 1744-45, 229. 5 Ibid., 1744-45, 271. 

6 Rhode Island Colonial Records, v, 318. 
7 Rhode Island Historical Tracts, viii, 191. 



153] 7 //A C0L 0A ' ' ' 0F RHODE ISLAND 3 5 

thirty-nine suits of this nature were in progress. During 
the following year one thousand and forty more were upon 
the docket in the same county.' 

The depreciation of the paper was uninterrupted, and be- 
came very great. The seventh bank, that of 1 740, was in 
" new tenor " bills, one of which was to equal four of the 
old bills. Matters grew steadily worse until the issues 
ceased. In 1763 an act was passed declaring that hence- 
forth gold and silver coin only should be lawful money.'' 
The value of the Spanish dollar was fixed at six shillings 
sterling. By that year the earlier bills had depreciated so 
that one Spanish dollar equaled seven pounds in paper. 
In 1764 the issue of 1750 was rated at five for two of specie. 3 

The blame for the depreciation was laid at the doers of 
the importers of English goods, who, the balance of trade 
being against the colony, were buying up gold and silver to 
remit to England/ But the history of paper money in 
Rhode Island does not differ greatly from that in the other 
colonies. Depreciation and disorganization of business fol- 
lowed again and again. It would seem that not only to 
those who perceived the true causes, but to those who 
simply saw the disastrous effect, the warning would have 
been sufficient to deter the people from ever again having 
recourse to this financial expedient. 

The organization of more elaborate government under the 
charter of 1663 was followed by the consciousness cf colo- 
nial unity. The advance of settlements into new country 
contributed to the same end. Th ; s growth of a political 
sense caused the squabbles which were continually arising 
in the various towns to seem comparatively unimportant. 

1 Rhode Island Historical Tracts, viii, 56. 
* Acts and Laws of Rhode Island, 1767, 165. 
s Rhode Island Historical Tracts, viii, 208. 
< Ibid., viii, 161, 188. 



36 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [l$4 

Even the fiercest of these, the Harris land dispute, which 
raged in Providence for many years and reached its height 
in 1677—9, rose scarcely to the dignity of a colonial question. 

In colonial politics there were for many years circum- 
stances which prevented marked party divisions. The dan- 
gers of Indian war, the frequent interference of royal 
commissioners and governors in colonial affairs, and the 
perpetual warfare waged with Massachusetts and Connecti- 
cut checked internal dissension. But as these dangers were 
removed, the natural tendency to party division often 
asserted itself. 

In the seventeenth century, as might be expected in a 
community devoted almost exclusively to agriculture, dis- 
putes arose, usually in regard to land. But with the devel- 
opment of commerce the situation was changed and a new 
element was brought into the field. Interests were then no 
longer identical for the colony as a whole. Economic 
conditions then decreed that what was for the interest of the 
rising trade was often detrimental to agriculture. On this 
foundation the building of parties was simple. No sooner 
did a debtor class arise in consequence of the second inter- 
colonial war, than there appeared an element of discontent 
arrayed against conservative business interests. In Rhode 
Island this condition of things began to assert itself in the 
first quarter of the eighteenth century. 

The efforts of the colony to aid the expeditions against 
the enemies of Great Britain led, as we have seen, to the issue 
of paper. The cause of paper at once commended itself to 
all discontented elements, and by the year 1731 they were in 
a majority in the general assembly. In that year a bill for 
the issue of a bank of .£40,000 passed that body. The de- 
preciation of the former issues and the consequent disorgan- 
ization of business arrayed a strong party of the more sub- 
stantial interests of the colony against the policy. After the 



l S$] THE COLOXY OF RHODE ISLAND 37 

bill passed the assembly the governor attempted to veto it. 
The assembly denied the power of the governor to veto a 
bill, and were supported in their position by the law officers 
of the crown." The sound money party was at the next 
election completely defeated. 

The rise of commerce tended to concentrate power at two 
centers, Newport and Providence. Newport had been both 
the capital and the metropolis of the colony. There cen- 
tered the social, political, and commercial life. There as- 
sembled annually the " General Court of Election," which it 
was the privilege of all the freemen to attend. There, until 
1747, were held the terms of the superior court. After 
1732, the governor was always chosen from one of the lead- 
ing families of the town or from the family of Greene of War- 
wick, which was closely connected with Newport by busi- 
ness and social ties. 

Naturally the culture of the colony was to an extent cen- 
tered at the capital. Among the intellectual lights of the 
town were numbered the two divines, Honcyman, and Mc- 
Sparran. The brief sojourn of Bishop Berkeley at Newport 
left its impress on the intellectual growth of the town. The 
names of Smibert and Gilbert Stuart are inseparably con- 
nected with the Newport of that time. The Wanton, Mal- 
bone, Redwood, and Whipple families were powers in the 
commercial world. Their ships were found in the ports of 
Europe and the West Indies, and on the coasts of Africa. 
Among the first families of the place were also to be found 
the names of Brenton, Bull, Coddington, Vernon, and Brin- 
ley. 

Providence had begun to develop early in the century. 
An increasing commerce came to her wharves. A genera- 
tion whose chief interests lay in that town were building up 
an extensive trade. Its position on the mainland at the 

' Rhode Island Colonial Records, iv, 456-61. 



■j 8 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION rjgg 

head of Narragansett Bay gave it great advantages which 
were augmented by the improvement of means of communi- 
cation by land. The marked growth of the town dates from 
1730. About that time the town street was built up, new 
stores were opened, and the tonnage of the port largely in- 
creased. Among the families contributing most largely to 
this upbuilding, none was more prominent than the Browns. 
As the place grew in importance, her development was 
watched by Newport with a jealous eye. It was perceived 
that Providence would soon demand political recognition 
commensurate with its budding commercial strength, but 
the old metropolis would not yield without a struggle. 
Gradually Providence drew to herself the northern towns cf 
the colony which were naturally tributary to her, and placed 
herself in open opposition to the dominant power of New- 
port. The latter found its strongest support in Newport and 
Kings counties and in a faction led by the Greenes of Po- 
towomut. The election of Stephen Hopkins of Providence 
as governor in 1755 was the first political victory of the 
northern party. Again, in 1756, Hopkins was victorious. 
During his second term certain of his acts gave color to the 
charge that he had overridden an act of the general assem- 
bly, 1 that he had appointed to responsible positions incom- 
petent members of his own family, that he had received un- 
warranted compensation for public services, and that the 
disposition of certain goods confiscated by the state had 
been made to the financial advantage of the governor. 2 

The leadership of the Newport party had fallen upon 
Samuel Ward, who came into the assembly in 1756 as a 
deputy from Westerly. The son of Richard Ward, a mer- 
chant of Newport, who was governor in 1 741-3, he was 
fitted by birth and training to assume the leadership of his 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, v, 445. 
-i Gammell, Life of Samuel Ward, 260. 



I 57l THE COLONY OF R/fODE ISLAND 39 

section of the state. His marriage into a prominent family 
of Block Island and his subsequent removal to Westerly 
tended to attach more firmly to his cause those portions of 
the state. Under his leadership the forces united against 
Hopkins and restored to the governorship William Greene 
of Warwick. A pamphlet by Hopkins, in which he charged 
the assembly with obstructing his administration, was met 
by a vindication by Ward. Smarting under defeat and the 
charges made by his opponents, Hopkins instituted a suit 
against Ward for libel. To remove the trial from the influ- 
ences of party strife the case was taken to the courts of 
Worcester county, Massachusetts. 1 Here it lingered, to em- 
bitter political relations in Rhode Island, until 1760, when 
judgment was rendered for the defendant by default. 
Governor Greene having died before the expiration of his 
term of office, Hopkins was chosen by the assembly to 
complete the term. At the next annual election he was re- 
elected over Ward, who now became the opposing candidate. 
The line of cleavage had shifted from the horizontal to the 
vertical. Losing its nature as a war between classes, the 
strife became sectional, and the contest assumed all the 
vindictiveness of a personal rivalry. For ten years these 
two men continued to be the contestants at each annual 
election. Only thrice, in 1762, 1765, and 1766, was the 
Ward party able to overcome the increasing influence of 
Hopkins. 

The pitch to which the passions of the two parties had 
been aroused became subversive of order and prosperity. 
As early as 1762 a proposal for a compromise was made by 
Ward, but was rejected by his opponent. - ' In February, 
1764, the two chieftains simultaneously made proposals for 
reconciliation. Those of Ward were addressed to the gen- 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vii, 68. 
1 Gammell, Life of Samuel Ward, 263. 



4 o RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION r T ^g 

eral assembly, proposing that both the contestants retire; 
that the governor be chosen from Newport, and the deputy- 
governor from Providence, and that the upper house be 
equally divided between the two parties. Hopkins in turn 
proposed that Ward accept the deputy-governorship, which 
had been made vacant by death. But the presence of 
growing anarchy could not overcome the lust for power, and 
so the fight went on. 

Again, in the campaign of I/67, efforts were put forth to 
secure a compromsie. The deputy-governor and nine as- 
sistants, friends of Ward, proposed that they nominate a 
governor and that the Hopkins party name the deputy-gov- 
ernor and half of the assistants. 1 To this proposition Hop- 
kins, who was now out of office, agreed, provided that Ward 
would retire from the field. This concession was refused and 
both parties stripped for the fight. The overtures of the Hop- 
kins party being scorned they took an aggressive attitude, and 
at the annual election won by a larger majority than ever be- 
fore. Governor Hopkins could afford to be magnanimous. 
The Ward party was crushed by defeat. In the following 
October, Hopkins proposed a compromise. He suggested 
that Ward choose a governor from the Hopkins party, that 
Hopkins choose a deputy governor from the Ward party, and 
that the assistants be chosen alternately in like manner. 
The result of this effort was the choice of Josias Lyndon of 
Newport as governor, and Nicholas Cooke as deputy gov- 
ernor.' 2 Thus closed perhaps the bitterest political struggle 
in the history of the colony and state. The way had been 
prepared so that, long after the principals in this affair had 
been removed by death, new conditions might revive the 
spirit of this old struggle to embitter a new conflict between 
the forces of order and of anarchy. 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vi, 551. 
*Ibid.,y\, 550. 



^9] THE COLONY OF RHODE ISI.A.xn ^ 

In this earlier period of the colony's history one glimpse 
is afforded us of its attitude toward colonial union. Here 
too we see Stephen Hopkins, the leader of the colony in the 
coming contest with the British ministry, before his excur- 
sions along the by-ways of partisan politics. The prospect 
of further hostilities with France, as well as indications that 
the Six Nations were falling away from their allegiance, 
made desirable some union between the colonies. Exhorta- 
tations to the colonies to maintain friendly correspondence 
with each other, and to be prepared to aid in repelling at- 
tacks on any one of their number, were followed by directions 
to appoint commissioners to attend a "general interview" 
between the various governments at Albany. 1 Following 
their appointment as delegates by the assembly, commis- 
sions were issued to Stephen Hopkins and Martin Howard, 
empowering them to take such measures as would be most 
effectual in maintaining a permanent friendship with the Six 
Nations, to inquire into what forts were building on the fron- 
tier, and by whom, to announce the readiness of Rhode 
Island to do her part toward the protection of the Indians 
against their enemies, and " in general, as far as the abilities 
of this government will permit, to act in conjunction with the 
said commissioners in everything necessary for the good of 
his majesty's subjects in those parts. '" This did not con- 
template a delegation of power to any central organ of gov- 
ernment outside the colony. 

Under date of August twentieth, the commissioners pre- 
sented a report containing a statement of the condition of 
the colonies in relation to the Indians and the French, and 
the plan of union agreed upon by the convention. The plan 
was held for further consideration." 1 Before it came up the 
Ward-Hopkins fight had begun, distorting facts by charge 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, v, 397 ; New ) 'erk (. olonial Documents, vi, 802. 
''Rhode Island Historical Tracts, ix, 4. ' Ibid., ix, 4. 



42 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION V T go 

and refutation. Hopkins, attacked by his opponents, issued 
his " True Representation " as a political tract in his own 
defense. 1 This was met by " Philolethes " in "A Short 
Reply." ' 2 In December of the same year news came from 
the colony's agent in England that action was likely to be 
soon taken on the Albany plan of union. This was unno- 
ticed until the following March, when " Philolethes " avers 
that the governor and upper house sent to the lower house 
a resolve that on examination they find the plan " to be a 
scheme which, if carried into execution, will virtually de- 
prive this government at least of some of its most valuable 
privileges, if not effectually overturn and destroy our present 
happy constitution." 3 Whether or not this be true, the 
assembly instructed the agent to be on the watch for any- 
thing respecting the Albany plan which might " have a 
tendency to infringe on our charter privileges," that he use 
his utmost endeavors to get it put off until such a time as 
the government is furnished with a copy and has an oppor- 
tunity of making answer.* The attitude taken toward the 
plan on both sides of the Atlantic relieved the colony from 
any further consideration of the matter. On its revival in 
March, 1755, this question became the shuttlecock of 
politicians in the great contest just commencing. It is 
evident that in the heat of strife the facts were exaggerated, 
but it is equally certain that there was a strong sentiment 
against yielding control over the colony to any central 
colonial government. 

Rhode Island's history as a colony thus reveals certain 
distinguishing characteristics, the product of conditions both 
external and internal. The very cause of its being, religious 
oppression, and the advanced views of Williams, decreed 

1 Rhode Island Historical Tracts, ix, 4. 

2 Ibid., ix, 59. % Ibid., ix, 61. 

* Rhode island Colonial Records, v, 424. 



!6r] THE COLONY OF RHODE ISLAND 43 

that here should be perfect liberty of conscience. That 
succeeding generations appreciated the value of the prin- 
ciple, defending it against all attack, the records of later 
years attest. 

In territory the colony was not rich. But that which it 
possessed became more highly prized with each struggle for 
its possession. Both the religious and territorial contro- 
versies developed a dislike and distrust of the surrounding 
colonies, which the adjustment of the troubles could not 
allay. The sense of isolation from the other colonies seemed 
to reflect itself in the people, and to develop the spirit of local 
independence to a high degree. The religious persuasions of 
the people, numbering among them so many shades of belief, 
tended toward individualism. There was little of that drawing 
together into towns centering about a church organization, 
elsewhere noticeable in New England. The people, on the 
contrary, lived apart, and little of public spirit was to be 
seen. 

From the earliest settlement the government of the colony 
was in fact, as well as in theory, democratic. In the earlier 
years this did not present a strong contrast to the conditions 
existing in the other colonies, but on the conversion of 
many of the colonies into royal provinces the difference be- 
came more marked. Connecticut alone could then approach 
her in political freedom. Not only were these two colonies 
the envy of their neighbors, but it was only by the interven- 
tion of fortuitous circumstances that they were permitted by 
the home government to retain their charters of freedom. 
Sensible of the dangers through which they were passing, 
they were led the more to prize this boon of free govern- 
ment, and look askance at any movement to unite their 
fortunes with those of larger communities which were less 
free. Those financial experiments and disasters accompany- 
ing the economic development of the colony caused political 



44 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [l6z 

lines to be drawn first between classes, and later between 
sections and men. Religious liberty, local independence, 
democracy, and individualism, these are the characteristics 
of her development. With such a history Rhode Island 
approached the Revolution. 



CHAPTER II 

A PERIOD OF HARMONY 

Almost before the bells ceased ringing in celebration of 
the fall of Quebec, there came across the Atlantic rumors that 
England was to tighten the reins of her control over the col- 
onies. The mercantile interests of England had for more than 
a century been laying restrictions on the foreign commerce of 
the colonies, and the year 1699 marked the first of a series 
of repressive measures designed to throttle American manu- 
factures. But in spite of all this the colonies throve and 
grew rich, until England determined that the time had ar- 
rived to draw a direct revenue from America. 

Lord Grenville, on March 9, 1764, took the first step in 
this direction by announcing the intention of the govern- 
ment to lay a stamp duty in America. The arrival of this 
news in the colonies found them already aroused to a sense 
of their former injuries, through the work of Otis and 
the other fathers of liberty. In Rhode Island their efforts 
had been seconded by Stephen Hopkins in the Providence 
Gazette, which was to be the organ of Americanism in that 
colony. The writings of Hopkins, particularly the " Essay 
upon Trade in the Northern Colonies," ' prepared the way for 
Rhode Island's remonstrance to the " Lords of Trade,'' the 
first official remonstrance from America. The essay entitled 
" The Rights of the Colonics Examined," which was prepared 
by order of the general assembly, exerted an influence be- 

1 Providence Gazette, Jan. 14 and 21, 1764. 
1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vi, ;;S. 
*3J 45 



46 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [ z 64 

yond the colony where it was written. When the call came 
from Massachusetts for joint action on the proposed Stamp 
Act, Rhode Island appointed a committee to join with those 
of the other colonies in such measures as should seem ad- 
visable to secure the repeal of the Sugar and the Molasses 
Acts, and prevent the passage of the proposed Stamp Act.' 
News of the passage of the Stamp Act reaching America 
in April, 1765,'' first gained attention from the legislature of 
Virginia in a set of resolutions declaring the rights of the 
people. This was followed by a circular letter from Massa- 
chusetts calling for a meeting of committees from all the 
colonial assemblies to meet at New York on the first Tues- 
day in October. The town of Providence, in compliance 
with this, adopted on August thirteenth a set of resolutions 
embodying those proposed by Henry in Virginia, and recom- 
mended the appointment of delegates to the proposed meet- 
ing." The assembly acted promptly in appointing delegates, 
who, while the sincerest loyalty and affection for his majesty 
were expressed, were directed to unite with the commission- 
ers from the other colonies in drawing up an address, and in 
all measures for presenting the same. 1 The agent in Lon- 
don was, at the same time, directed to support all "neces- 
sary measures in procuring relief in these important affairs." 
The results of the congress were reported to the assembly 
of Rhode Island at its October session. 6 The sentiments of 
the colony at this time may perhaps best be shown in the 
language of Governor Ward, the only one of the colonial 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vi, 404. 

2 Providence Gazette, Apr. 6, 1765. 

3 Providence Town Meeting Records, v, 1 22-3; Providence Gazette, Aug. 24, 
1765. 

* Acts and Resolves 0/ the General Assembly (MS.), 1762 J, Sept. II, 1765. 

5 Ibid., Sept. 11, 1765. 

6 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vi, 465-71. 



165] A PERIOD OP HARMONY 47 

governors who refused to take the oath to support the Stamp 
Act. In a letter to the agent in London, he said: "You 
will consider, sir, that our all is at stake. ... If the late 
regulations are continued and enforced we shall be entirely 
undone. . . . We unanimously esteem our relation to our 
mother country as our greatest happiness, and are ever 
ready, and at the hazard of our lives and fortunes to do 
everything in our power for her interest, and all we desire in 
return is the quiet enjoyment of the common rights and 
privileges as Englishmen, which we imagine we have a nat- 
ural and just right to." 1 The remonstrances of the colonies 
were rewarded by the repeal of the Stamp Act. 

The distinction made in the colonies between direct taxes 
and commercial imposts pointed the way for a revenue act, 
passed in June, 1767, imposing a duty on glass, paper, 
paints, and tea, establishing revenue boards in America, and 
proposing to make use of writs of assistance. The purpose 
of the act was to raise a revenue to pay the salaries of the 
civil officers, and thereby make them independent of the 
people. Roused by this assault on the established order of 
things, Boston led the way in a vote to forbear to use or to im- 
port the listed articles, and appointed a committee to secure 
subscribers to a non-importation agreement and to communi- 
cate with the other towns and colonies. 

Providence was not slow in following the lead of Boston. 
At a town meeting held November twenty-fifth, to consider 
measures for promoting industry, economy, and manufac- 
tures, a strong sentiment in favor of non-importation pre- 
vailed." A committee, appointed at this time reported in 
December an agreement for non-importation, and a recom- 
mendation for the encouragement of the flax and wool indus- 
tries. To secure the general enforcement of the agreement 

1 Rhode Island ( 'olonial Records, vi, 474. 
x Providence Gatette, Nov. 2S, 1767. 



48 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION \\66 

it was voted to discountenance in every lawful manner all 
who should not enter the agreement. 1 Newport, on Decem- 
ber fourth, voted unanimously for non-importation, and 
discouraged the use of certain imported goods/ This spirit 
was not long in permeating the colony. The subscription 
lists swelled in numbers, the wearing of homespun was 
adopted by all classes, and spinning became popular at 
social gatherings. 3 

The Massachusetts assembly, in February, 1768, voted to 
transmit to the other colonies a letter giving its sentiments 
on the question of the hour and asking for an exchange of 
views on matters of mutual interest. 4 Though not comply- 
ing until several months later, the Rhode Island assembly 
at its next session referred the circular to a committee who 
were also instructed to draw up an address to the king and 
to the secretary of state. 5 A report was made on Septem- 
ber sixteenth containing an address to the king which de- 
clared the revenue act to be an infringement on the rights of 
the colonists under the British constitution. 6 

With the whole force of parliamentary resentment turned 
against Boston, Virginia came bravely to the front. The 
legislature of that colony, in informal assembly, drew up a 
non-importation agreement, together with a circular letter to 
the other colonies and a set of resolutions upon the rights 
of the people. The action of Virginia was laid before the 
Rhode Island assembly at its June session 1769, 7 and in 
October the Virginia resolutions were in substance adopted. 

1 Providence Gazette, Dec. 5, 1767. 

2 Ibid., Dec. 12, 1767. 

3 Ibid., Dec. 12 and 19, 1767. 

* Boston Gazette, Mar. 14, 1768. 

5 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly {MS.), ijbb-g, Mar. 2, 1768. 

6 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vi, 559. 

1 Acts and Resolves oj the General Assembly (AIS.), ifbb-q, June 13, 1769. 



1C7] A PERIOD OF HARMONY 49 

A committee was ordered to report an address to the king 
to the next session.' 

The colonists found it much easier to pass resolutions of 
non-importation than to maintain them when adopted. A 
tendency to break the agreement was noticeable all along 
the line. The early action of Providence on the subject had 
not met with entire success. Infringements led to a call for 
the Sons of Liberty to meet at the dedication of a liberty 
tree in that town on July twenty-fifth, 1769, to agree on 
effectual measures to secure non-importation.* The effect 
was not satisfactory. Violations became so numerous that 
merchants in New York ceased to have any dealings with 
those of Rhode Island. 3 Providence, suffering from the 
conduct of those merchants whose avarice exceeded their 
patriotism, again adopted a non-importation agreement. 4 It 
being learned soon after that a cargo of the tabooed goods 
was daily expected by certain merchants, a town meeting 
was hurriedly called and the offending merchants were 
obliged to surrender the goods in question, to be held in 
bond until the revenue acts should be repealed.* Boston 
and New York having decided to extend the period of non- 
importation until the revenue act should be repealed, 
Providence emulated the example of those towns, and 
several merchants expecting consignments of the prohibited 
goods were compelled on their arrival to transfer them to 
the custody of a town committee. 6 Owing to this energetic 
action the feeling against Rhode Island subsided. 

Rumors of the repeal of the revenue act furnished a pre- 

1 Acts and Resolves 0/ the General Assembly {MS.), 1766-Q, June 13, 1769, Oct. 
28, 1768. 
'Staples, Annals of Providence, 223. 

3 Boston Gazette, Oct. 9, 1 769. 

4 Providence Gazette, Oct. 14, 1769. s Ibid,, Oct. 21, 1769. 
'Staples, Annals of Providence, 223. 



^0 RHODE ISLA.XD AND THE UXION \\6& 

text of which the loyalists of Newport were quick to make 
the most, and the agreement was quickly set aside.' In 
Providence a meeting of merchants had repealed the agree- 
ment except in respect to tea, but another meeting declaring 
this too precipitate, voted to continue the old arrangement. 
It was further resolved that, should any bring into the town 
any prohibited goods, his name should be published in the 
newspapers. To set the position of Providence aright before 
the world, the proceedings of this meeting were widely pub- 
lished." 

Newport displayed a less patriotic spirit by freely break- 
ing the agreement, regardless of the censure of Providence. 
Soon it was evidenced that Providence was still in bad 
repute in some quarters. A spirited protest was entered 
against her by the town of Windham, Connecticut; Philadel- 
phia refused to trade with a Providence vessel, and in New 
York prohibited goods brought from Rhode Island were 
seized/ These circumstances led to another declaration 
from Providence that they had adhered strictly to non- 
importation, and that the wholesale discriminations made 
against the town by the southern and western colonies were 
unjust.* The statement was accepted by Boston and trade 
resumed. 5 

With the continuance of the policy of taxation, committees 
of correspondence were appointed in many towns in Massa- 
chusetts. The appointment of the Gaspee Commission was 
the more definite act needed to incite the other colonies to 
action. This commission was created by royal instructions 
at the close of 1773 to investigate the burning of the Gas- 

1 Providence Gazette, May 26, 1770. 

* Providence Town Meeting Records, v, 165; Providence Gazette, June 2, 1770. 

s Providence Gazette, June 30 and July 7, 1 770. 

4 Staples, Annals of Providence, 2.17. 

5 Providence Gazette, Sept. 15, 1 770. 



t6q] A PERIOD OF HARMONY 5 I 

pee. Its object was to discover the offenders and turn them 
over to Admiral Montague to be taken to England for trial 
on charge of high treason. The military force of General 
Gage was placed at the disposal of the commission. These 
preparations kindled the smouldering flame. The civil 
authorities refused to give their assistance in any way. The 
chief justice declared that he would give no order for an 
arrest on the application of the commission, nor would he 
allow his officers to do so. 1 It speaks well for the fidelity of 
the colony that the royal commission, sitting in the midst of 
a community where the offenders were generally known, 
was unable to apprehend a single one of the participants. 
While the Gaspee affair was under discussion, Virginia re- 
solved to appoint a committee of correspondence and to 
invite the other colonies to do likewise. In response the 
Providence Gazette said, "Embrace this plan of union as 
your life. It will work out your political salvation." - ' Forth- 
with the assembly appointed a standing committee of cor- 
respondence.' When the matter came before the other 
colonies, the action of Virginia and Rhode Island lay side by 
side. The failure of the Gaspee Commission put an end to 
royal instructions, but not until they had served to accustom 
the colonies to common thought and action through com- 
mittees of correspondence. 

In the Spring of 1773, it was learned that an attempt 
would be made to force taxed tea upon the colonies. Though 
intense excitement was created, no offic'al utterance ap- 
peared from the Rhode Island assembly. Several of the 
towns took action, notably Providence and Newport, de- 
claring it to be the duty of all to oppose the tea tax. 4 The 

1 Bancroft, I/is(. of the United States, iii, 434. 

1 Providence Gazette, May 22, 1773. 

3 ft hode Island Colonial Records, vii, 227. 

* Ibid., 272; I rui'idence Gazette, Jan. 22, 1773. 



52 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [ T y 

town of Bristol, in its resolves, went even further, saying that 
the charter having been broken, the people " may in time 
be provoked to renounce their allegiance and assert an in- 
dependency." ' 2 By these resolves no practical result was 
produced beyond adding a link to the chain of sympathy 
which bound the colonies together. 

On the recommendation of the king, Parliament, to punish 
Boston for indulging in the " Tea Party," enacted the Port 
Bill. But an attack on one was an attack on all. Salem 
and Marblehead offered to Boston the use of their wharves. 
Aid began to flow in on all sides. Providence, assuming 
Boston's cause as her own, instructed her deputies to secure 
aid from the assembly for the stricken town. 3 Resolutions 
were also adopted against making the town an asylum for 
persons whose interests and principles were inimical to the 
interests of America. The presence of any such persons 
was to be discouraged by every lawful means. 4 A broadside 
headed "Join or Die," which appeared in Newport, reveals 
the temper of the patriots there as well as did their votes in 
town meeting to join in any measures of relief. 5 Westerly, 
too, offered her sympathy. 6 Neither at the June nor at the 
August session did the assembly offer aid to Boston, 
though at the former a day of fasting and pra; er was set 
apart. 7 At the August session it was voted to submit the 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vii, 274. 

8 Action was also taken in Warren, Westerly, Little Compton, Middletown, 
South Kingstown, Jamestown, Hopkinton, Richmond, New Shoreham, Cumber- 
land, and tarrington. Rhode Island Colonial Records, vii, 272, et seq. 

3 Providence 1 'own Meeting Records, vi, 18; Providence Gazette, May 21 and 
Aug. 13, 1774. 

* Providence Town Meeting Records, vi, 19; Providence Gazette, Sept. 3, 1774. 

'•'Rhode Island Colonial Records, vii, 293; Providence Gazette, May 28, 1774; 
Am. Archives, i, 343. 

6 Providence Gazette, May 28, 1774. 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly {MS.), 1774-5, June 14, 1774. 



I 7 1 J A PERIOD OF HARMONY t 3 

question of relief to the towns assembled for the election of 
deputies, that these might be instructed on the subject. 1 

After the discussion of the matter in town meeting, sub- 
scriptions came in from many towns accompanied by ex- 
pressions of sympathy. All expressed the conviction that 
the cause of Boston was their own, and, rather than submit, 
death in defense of their rights would be preferable.* Scitu- 
ate spoke in clear tones when she appointed a committee to 
unite with the other towns in a plan that should " have a 
tendency, under the blessing of Heaven, to insure us our in- 
violate rights and privileges." 3 Again in tones no less clear 
did she speak when she thought her rights endanged in later 
years by her sister states. The material assistance furnished 
by the towns was principally in money and cattle. 1 

For many months the idea of a general congress of the 
colonies had been developing. It found expression as early 
as August, 1773, and was repeated unofficially at various 
times before May, 1774. The first call from any political 
body was made when the town of Providence, on May 17, 
1774, instructed her deputies to promote a movement for a 
congress of representatives of the colonial assemblies. The 
purpose should be to form a firm union between the colo- 
nies.'' Following the instructions of Providence, the assem- 
bly, on June fifteenth, adopted resolutions declaring that "a 
firm and inviolable union of all the colonies, in councils and 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vii, 257. 
1 Providence Gazette, Sept. 3, 1774. 

3 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vii, 283. 

4 The correspondence of the towns with Boston is to be found in 4 A fast. 
Hist. Soc. Collections, iv, 1-278. Providence and North Providence contributed 
money {Providence Town Meeting Records, vi, 20), seven towns sent sheep, and 
two sent horned cattle. 

4 Providence Town Meeting Records, vi, 15. 



5 ^ RHODE ISL. D THE i'XIOX \\j 2 

absolutely nece ; - the preservation of 

ties and favoring a cong: - 
Twc gates, Stephen Hopkins and Samuel Ward, 

chosen to attend such a gathering, with instructions to pro- 
mote the - :f a remonstrance to the king, and to take 
ther "reasonable and lawful" measures for securing 
their I I rther t: 

I of delegate;.' I :e the first dele., 

to be chose Rhode Island 

the first colony to call for a convention, though it failed to 
:ime and place of meeting. These - pplied by 

Ma-;. lays later. In giving Rhode Island 

rst calling for a convention, too much - 
Id not be laid on the fact, for the same force 
h ough it did not rind official 
ante a; soon. In Virginia too, before the action of Massa- 
chusetts and Rhode Island became known, a call ha 

d at lea?: : ree colonies the same conclusions 
wori- g 

On the eighth of December, the Rhode Island dele_ I 
made oort to the assembly. The work of the con- 

gress being appr I ed that the towns 

appoint committees is ttion to carry into e 

- : Association.* Congress had recommended that, 
of gi :ared, it edient 

a seccne g -i. ould be held in May of the 

year. In com issem ietermined to co- 

oper, ther colonies in even* proper measure ::r 

-tablishing the 
all the colonies upon an equitabi 

tmd Rfiofoa . al Assembly (JfS.), r-~- 

_" . - : : -• [774 

:- - J74 



173] A PERIOD OF HARMONY 55 

permanent foundation." 1 The delegates to the first congress 
were reelected, with authority to " consult and advise," and 
to enter into and adopt all reasonable and lawful measures 
" for the support, defense, protection, and security of the 
rights, liberties and privileges, both civil and religious, of all 
the said colonies or any of them."" 

Providence had already set the example for the towns by 
publishing the Articles of Association, and adopting meas- 
ures to prevent the exportation of sheep.'' At a meeting a 
month later that town appointed a special committee of 
eighteen to see that the articles were enforced. 4 A commit- 
tee was also appointed in Newport for the same purpose. 5 
Newport's reputation for Toryism again gave rise to rumors 
that her citizens were not observing the agreements of the 
colonies, and that ships were fitting out there for trade in 
defiance of the Articles of Association. The committee of 
correspondence promptly sent a letter to Philadelphia, where 
the rumor originated, stating that all ships had been laid up 
on December first, and ail preparations for export had 
ceased." Various notices in the papers show that in general 
through the colony an effort was made to keep the agree- 
ment. 7 

The prelude to the drama was now ended. At Lexington 
and Concord the curtain had risen on a great tragedy. As 
the news of this event ran through the colonies they realized 
that war was upon them. In the emergency a special ses- 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vii, 267. 

2 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), 1774-3, Dec. 9, 1 774. 

3 Providence Gazette, Nov. 26, 1774. 

4 Providence Town Meeting Records, vi, 21. 

5 Prcnidencc Gazette, Dec. 24, 1774. 
fi American Archives, i, 1098. 

1 Providence Gazette, Mar. II and June 17, 1775; American A>chives,'\\\, 661. 



t;6 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION \*74 

sion of the assembly was called to take measures of defense. 1 
It was voted to raise a force of fifteen hundred men to re- 
main in the colony as an army of observation, to repel any 
insult or violence that might be offered to the inhabitants. 
If necessary for the protection of any other colony, it was to 
join and cooperate with the forces of the neighboring colo- 
nies. Military preparations had been making for months. 
The militia laws had been revised, military companies had 
been formed and supplies collected.' A committee was to 
consult with the authorities of Connecticut on measures of 
defense for the New England colonies. 3 The speaker of the 
House of Representatives, in announcing the action of the 
assembly to Connecticut, remarked with evident satisfaction 
that " greater unanimity was scarce ever found than was 
manifested in the lower house on the great questions that 
came before them.'" 

But in spite of the unanimity in the House of Representa- 
tives, the measures of the patriots were by no means unop- 
posed by a portion of the citizens. The spirit of opposition 
made itself manifest in the upper house of the assembly in 
the form of a protest against the raising of an army of 
observation. This protest, signed by Governor Joseph 
Wanton, Deputy Governor Darius Sessions, and two as- 
sistants, alleged as a motive the opinion that "such a meas- 
ure will be attended with the most fatal consequences to our 
charter privileges ; involve the colony in all the horrors of a 

1 American Archives, ii, 362. 

2 The most important military measures may thus be stated chronologically: 
June, 1774, Light Infantry chartered; Oct., Newport, Providence, Pawtuxet, 
Gloucester, and Kentish companies chartered ; Dec, Providence Train of Artillery, 
Fusileers, and North Providence Rangers chartered; committees appointed to re- 
vise the militia laws, and to procure arms and ammunition. 

3 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (AIS.), 1774-5, Apr. 24, 1 775. 

4 American Archives, ii, 389. 

5 Acts and Resolves oj the General Assembly (MS.), 1774-5, Apr. 2 5> x 775- 



! 7 5 ] * PERIOD OF HARM OX Y 5 7 

civil war, and, as we conceive, is an open violation of the 
oath of allegiance which we have severally taken, on our 
admission into the respective offices we now hold in the 
colony." ' 

In the flush of triumph at the outcome of the Revolution, 
and burning under the recollections of that stormy period, it 
has been the custom to belittle the character, number and 
importance of the loyal element of the American people in 
that great struggle. A century's tranquillizing influence 
should enable us to realize what the leaders of the patriots 
were forced to admit to their own generation : that probably 
one-third of the people of America were opposed to the 
Revolution. 1 ' While these loyalists were from all ranks of 
society, it must be admitted that on an average the balance 
was in their favor as compared with their opponents, in 
respect to wealth, intelligence, and social position. In the 
opposition to the measures of the popular party in Rhode 
Island, two motives may be distinguished. There was a 
conservative spirit, ruling a class of men who, while they 
loved their country and stood firmly for its liberties during 
the intellectual period of the Revolution, shrank from armed 
opposition to constituted authority. Then there was a 
commercial spirit prevailing among a large class of influen- 
tial merchants whose wealth had been gained mostly in 
trade. Though in the main patriotic, they were dominated 
by business instincts, and to them armed rebellion suggested 
all the horrors of civil war, the destruction of trade, and the 
sacrifice of accumulated wealth. These motives, mingled in 
every proportion, were to be found not only in Rhode 
Island, but with still other motives throughout all the 
colonies. 

Both the conservative and the commercial spirit were 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vii, 31 1. 
3 Works of John Adams, x, 63, 87, no. 



5 8 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [j-rg 

well exemplified in Governor Wanton, who signed the pro- 
test against the raising of troops. Sprung from a family of 
colonial governors and bearing in his veins the best blood 
of New England, he was alive to the wrongs of his country, 
but he shrank from rebellion. He came into office just at 
the time of the firing of the revenue vessel, Liberty. In 
the correspondence which followed this act the governor 
strongly supported the action of the colonial court, while 
complaining loudly of the customs officers for abusing and 
misrepresenting the colony. 1 On being apprised of the 
depredations of the Gaspee in Narragansett Bay, Governor 
Wanton sent the high sheriff of Newport to demand of her 
commander his commission and the instructions bringing 
him into the colony. 2 

In reply to a letter from Admiral Montague in which 
that officer censured the colony severely, Governor Wanton 
returned an answer worthy of the man and of the times. 
Concerning his duty as governor he said : " Please to be in- 
formed that I do not receive instructions for the administra- 
tration of the government, from the king's admiral stationed 
in America." :; While expressing a willingness to aid the 
officers of the crown in the execution of their duty, he con- 
tinues: " Please to know that I will send the sheriff of this 
colony at any time, and to any place within the body of it, 
as I shall think fit." ■ It was after such exhibitions of 
patriotism that he entered his protest against the raising of 
the army. When the time arrived for the annual inaugura 
tion of the government, Governor Wanton transmitted to the 
assembly a request to be excused from attendance at the 
session on account of illness. 5 At the same time he recom- 
mended to their careful consideration the conciliatory letter 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vii, 42. 

2 Ibid., vii, 62. 3 Ibid., vii, 64. 

4 Ibid., vii, 64. 5 Ibid., vii, 332. 



\nj~\ A PI'RIOD OF HARMONY 59 

from the Earl of Dartmouth, under date of March third, 1775, 
asking that it be treated " with that tender calmness and 
deliberation " which the importance of it demanded.' " The 
prosperity and happiness of this colony," continued he, " is 
founded in its connection with Great Britain — torn from the 
body to which we are united by our religion, liberty, laws, 
and commerce, we must bleed at every vein. Your charter 
privileges are of too much importance to be forfeited." 
After recommending the avoidance not only of every ap- 
pearance of anger, but a respectful demeanor toward the 
king and parliament, he concluded : " I shall always be 
ready to join with you in every measure which will secure 
the full possession of our invaluable charter privileges to the 
latest posterity, and prevent the good people from that ruin 
and destruction which in my opinion some of the orders of 
the late Assembly must inevitably involve them in, if they 
are not speedily repealed.""' A curt query whether he in- 
tended to accept his election, and if so would he give his 
attendance in the assembly, caused him to repeat his plea 
of illness. ' ; 

The attitude of the governor was by no means acceptable 
to the assembly. A resolution was passed in that body 
forbidding the deputy governor or the assistants, in direct 
contravention of the terms of the charter, to administer the 
oath of office to him except in open assembly, and, further, 
that until such oath was administered he should be suspended 
from his office. 4 The charges enumerated against him were, 
besides, that he had entered a protest reflecting on the 
assembly, and failed to qualify as governor; that he had 
refused to sign the commissions of the newly created officers 
of the army, and had neglected to proclaim a fast day decreed 
by the assembly. These resolutions brought out the st.de- 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Record;:, vii, 322. ■ Ibid., vii, 322. 

( llnd., vii, 334. ' Ibid., vii, 325. 



6o RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [ z 78 

ment that, had he not been suspended, the fast would have 
been proclaimed in ample time. The commissions he could 
not consistently sign after entering the protest. 1 The ex- 
planation being unsatisfactory to the assembly, at the October 
session, the office of governor was declared vacant. 2 Though 
not removing from the colony like so many of his party, his 
political sun had set, and the remainder of his life was passed 
in quiet retirement. 

In other quarters the commercial motive was making 
itself felt in a way scarcely appealing to the finer sympathies. 
The love of gain had already brought some of the trading 
class into collision with the patriots for violations of the non- 
intercourse agreements. Some of the people of Newport 
persisted in gratifying at the same time their loyalty and 
their greed by supplying sheep, butter, eggs, and other pro- 
visions to the British army at Boston. 3 Writing to General 
Greene, Governor Cooke comments upon these acts thus: 
" I am sorry I have so much reason to tell you that there is 
such a strong party at Newport that countenances and joins 
with them, and gives them all the intelligence and supplies 
in their power. In short, I think there is great reason to 
fear they will soon be the strongest party in that town, if 
some method is not taken to prevent it." * To prevent such 
a result was the object of stringent laws passed by the 
assembly. It was enacted that any person acting as pilot 
on any armed vessel going in or out of the waters of Rhode 
Island, not in the service of one of the colonies, should be 
fined not to exceed £500, or imprisoned not to exceed 
twelve months. 5 The loyalists were, however, not to be 
deterred, and so at its next session the assembly declared 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vii, 336. 

2 Ibid., viii, 392. 8 Providence Gazette, June 3, 1775. 

4 Rhode Island Hist. Soc. Collections, vi, 1 14. 

5 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vii, 364. 



179] A PERIOD OF HARMONY 



6l 



it traitorous correspondence, punishable with death and con- 
fiscation, to supply the British with provisions or pilot their 
vessels. 1 The pitiable condition to which the people of New- 
port were reduced led to a provision in the act whereby they 
were allowed to supply the British with provisions in return 
for immunity from plunder granted to their boats. 

To make more rigorous the lot of the detested Tories, 
measures were instituted to confiscate their property. At 
the October session, 1775, no less than fourteen acts of con- 
fiscation were passed.' It is of interest to note that the 
greater part of the forfeited estates were those owned by 
wealthy citizens of Boston, holding property in the Narra- 
gansett Country. Confiscation of property and the trans- 
portation of suspected persons to the interior towns were re- 
sorted to constantly during the early years of the war. The 
attitude of the colony toward the loyalists, as well as the 
steps taken to assert their rights as Englishmen, indicates 
the position of Rhode Island at the outbreak of hostilities. 

To attempt to fix the first suggestion, by an individual, of 
independence, would but prove vain. Imperceptibly it was 
approaching. A few bold spirits like Hopkins and Samuel 
Adams had long watched its progress with approving eves, 
but the popular mind was not, during the year 1775, pre- 
pared for such a measure. Even Congress repeatedly dis- 
avowed any intention of separation. As early as June 9, 
1775. that body advised Massachusetts to elect representa- 
tives to conduct the government until a governor of his 
majesty's choosing should consent to govern according to 
the terms of the charter. Advice of a similar nature was 
given to New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Virginia. The 
growing sentiment of independence seized the masses, 
powerfully moved by the forcible, plain English of Paine's 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vii, 389. 

' IbuL, vii, 370-86. ■ Journals 0/ Congress, i, 80. 



62 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [ x 80 

" Common Sense," which appeared in January, 1776. As 
early as November 27, 1775, a Rhode Island man wrote: 
"The die is cast. The union of the two colonies with 
Britain is at an end. It is as easy to bring two poles to- 
gether as to bring about an accommodation. The great 
question between America and Great Britain is now reduced 
to a point; we must be independent or slaves. We must 
declare ourselves free. A federal, not an incorporating, 
union must be completed as soon as possible." ' General 
Greene, who had repeatedly counseled united action, now 
boldly recommended independence.' 2 To the delegates in 
Congress Rhode Island recommended that all measures of 
partial and colonial defense give way to the united exertion 
of all under a supreme, superintending power. 11 Through 
the columns of the colonial press may be traced a steady 
advance of opinion leading to an official utterance on May 
4, 1776. As North Carolina was the first colony to declare 
independence, so was Rhode Island the first to renounce her 
allegiance to Great Britain. This step was taken May 4, 
1776. It had been voted by the lower house of the 
assembly to call upon the towns at the spring election to 
vote on independence. But as there were several towns 
which it was feared would reject the proposition, the plan 
was not carried out, lest a divided vote might weaken the 
cause in Rhode Island. 4 On the inauguration of the gov- 
ernment, no time was lost in approaching the cause which 
was uppermost in the minds of all. Under the title of " An 
Act Repealing an Act entitled An Act for the more 
effectually securing to His Majesty the allegiance of his sub- 
jects in the colony and dominion of Rhode Island and Provi- 
dence Plantations, and altering the forms of all commissions, 

1 Amer. Archives, iii, 1686. 

2 Ibid., iv, 5 7 1 . 3 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vii, 45 1 . 
4 Staples, Rhode Island in the Continental Congress, 68. 



! g ! ~[ A PERIOD Ol- HARMONY 63 

of all writs and processes in the courts, and of the oaths pre- 
scribed by law," the assembly, with but six dissenting votes, 
passed an act which placed the colony a step in advance of 
her sister colonies. 1 

Regarding government as a contract, the preamble to this 
act relates that protection and allegiance are reciprocal. 
The king in violation of the compact had introduced fleets 
and armies into the colony to force upon the people a de- 
testable tyranny. As under such circumstances it becomes 
the right and duty of a people to make use of the means at 
hand for their preservation, therefore the act of allegiance 
was repealed. It was further enacted that in all commis- 
sions, writs, and processes at law, wherever the name and 
authority of the king had been employed, should be substi- 
tuted " The Governor and Company of the English Colony 
of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." The courts 
were no longer to be the king's courts, nor were written 
instruments of any kind to bear the year of the king's reign. 

Having thus practically cut the bond which held them to 
the old country, it was appropriate that the next proceeding 
should be directed toward closer union with the other 
colonies. This idea was embodied in a letter of instructions 
forwarded to the delegates in Congress. They were em- 
powered to join in consulting and advising, " upon the most 
proper measures for promoting and confirming the strictest 
union and confederation between the said United Colonies, 
for exerting their whole strength and force to annoy the 
common enemy, and to secure to the said colonies their 
rights and liberties, both civil and religions ;" and further 
the)' were empowered, in conjunction with the delegates of 
the other colonies, " to enter into and adopt all such meas- 
ures; taking the greatest care to secure to this colony, in 
the strongest and most perfect manner, its present estab- 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), 1776, Ft. I, May 4, 1776. 



64 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [182 

lished form, and all the powers of government, so far as 
relate to its internal police and conduct of our own affairs, 
civil and religious." ' Though the instructions avoided, on 
account of a lack of perfect unanimity among the towns, 
any direct charge on the subject of independence, it was in- 
tended that the prevailing sentiment of the people should 
not be mistaken. 2 In regard to union there was no dissent, 
and to that topic the instructions were confined. But not 
more emphatic were the instructions on the side of union 
than in preserving the peculiar liberties of the colony. The 
simple direction to "secure to the said colonies their rights 
and liberties, civil and religious," and to take care " to 
secure to this colony in the strongest and most perfect man- 
ner, its present established form, and all the powers of gov- 
ernment, so far as relates to its internal police and conduct 
of our own affairs, civil and religious," bring vividly to mind 
all those circumstances in her history which had blended to 
form the character of the colony. The banishment from 
Massachusetts ; the struggling settlements dedicated to soul 
liberty ; the unequalled privileges of the charter, and the 
century of conflict waged over every foot of the narrow 
territory granted by that instrument, all these were present 
before the colony when it prepared to step forth from the 
tutelage of England, and join its fate with that of its sister 
colonies. In these lines were summed up the history of the 
past and the hopes for the future. 

Sustained by such expressions of encouragment, Congress 
proceeded on its way to a formal declaration of independ- 
ence. On the receipt of the news of the declaration, the 
assembly approved the action and did " most solemnly en- 
gage, that we will support the said General Congress, with our 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vii, 526. 

2 Ibid., vii, 527; Staples, Rhode Island in the Continental Congress, 68. 



j 33] A PERIOD OF HARMONY 65 

lives and fortunes." ' Already, at the June session, it had 
been enacted that all persons suspected of unfriendliness to 
the United Colonies should take a test oath declaring their 
belief in the justice and necessity of the resistance to Great 
Britain ; that they would in no way furnish aid or comfort to 
the enemy, and that they would assist in the defense of the 
United Colonies." Now on the receipt of the declaration, it 
was added that no male under twenty-one years of age 
should make appeal to the assembly, commence an action 
in court, or have the right to vote or hold office until he had 
subscribed to the test oath. 1 The invocation "God save the 
King," which had long closed the records of the sessions of 
the assembly, in June, 1776, became "God save the United 
Colonies," and at the July session, " God save the United 
States." 

After independence the next step was to formulate a sys- 
tem of government. Under gradually broadening instruc- 
tions the Continental Congress advanced beyond the exer- 
cise of simply recommendatory functions, to those of a truly 
national character. The instructions to the delegates to the 
second Congress, particularly at its second session, show a 
marked advance in the national spirit. Massachusetts gave 
her delegates authority to " direct and order." ' South 
Carolina's delegates were to "concert, agree to, and ef- 
fectually prosecute measures to secure a redress of griev- 
ances," b while Maryland bound her citizens "to execute, to 
the utmost of their powers, all resolutions, that the said Con- 
gress may adopt.'" 3 North Carolina delegated such power 
as would make their acts "obligatory, in honor, upon 
every inhabitant thereof." 7 Rhode Island's delegates were 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), 1776, Ft. //July 19, 1776. 
' Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), 1776, Ft. I, June 16, 1776. 
3 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vii, 58S. ' Journals of Congress, i, 5 1 . 

5 Ibid., i. 54. * Ibid., i, 53. ' Ibid., i, 53. 



66 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [ 1 84 

to join in "consulting upon proper measures to obtain a re- 
peal of the several acts of the British Parliament, for levying 
taxes upon his majesty's subjects in America, without their 
consent; and upon proper measures to establish the rights 
and liberties of the colonies upon a just and solid founda- 
tion." ' The onward march of events led, during the Spring 
of 1776, to further instructions. Rhode Island then gave 
power to "consult and advise" for the purpose of annoying 
the enemy and securing the liberties of the colonies by 
making treaties with foreign powers, or by any other pru- 
dent and effective means. 2 

During the earlier sessions of Congress the colonies, ad- 
vancing from the bestowal of advisory powers, had gradually 
bestowed authority, express or implied, even to the point of 
declaring independence. Congress in its acts had kept 
somewhat in advance of its expressly delegated powers. 
Foreign affairs it controlled entirely. Military authority it 
exercised as the only body competent to do so. In civil 
affairs Congress was not supreme. To bring order out of 
the chaos of powers it was necessary at once to adopt some 
definite frame of government. 

As early as June eleventh, 1776, a committee of Congress 
was directed to present such a plan. 3 They reported July 
twelfth, 4 and the plan was taken up ten days later. 5 After a 
month's debate it was laid aside until well into the following 
year. During these days discussion centered about the 
eleventh and seventeenth articles. The former provided that 
common charges should be met from a treasury supplied by 
the states in proportion to the number of inhabitants, " of 
every age, sex, and quality, excepting Indians not paying 

1 "Journals of Congress, i, 70. 

2 Acts and Resolves of Ike General Assembly (MS.), 1776, Pt. I, May 4, 1 776. 
H Journals of Congress, i, 370. 

4 Ibid., i, 408. 6 Ibid., i, 420. 



I85] A PERIOD OF HARMONY fa 

taxes." Article seventeenth gave to each state one vote in 
Congress. This was the rock on which it was feared that 
the confederacy would split. It was a concession to the 
small states. This the delegates of the larger states natur- 
ally opposed, and for a time they refused to consider aught 
but a proportional representation. The small states were 
even more loud in their demands. Delaware's representa- 
tives came instructed to accept nothing but equal represen- 
tation.-' New Jersey feared that otherwise the small states 
would become the vassals of the larger." On behalf of 
Rhode Island, Stephen Hopkins observed that there were 
four large, four small, and four middle-sized colonies; that 
the four largest contained a majority of the population, and 
that, if proportional representation were given, these could 
overrule the rest. The Germanic, Helvetic and Belgic con- 
federacies furnished him with instances of unions voting by 
states. 4 The draft of the articles which came from the com- 
mittee of the whole contained no change in the disputed 
points. 3 

The articles were debated at various times during the 
summer of 1777, and at last, after a discussion lasting six- 
teen months, were argued in their final form on November 
1 S> l 777- 6 Marchant, one of the delegates, in person bore 
the articles to Rhode Island, and at a special session of the 
general assembly on December 19 laid them before that 
bod}-, with a personal recommendation that they be ratified. 
According to custom, the final discussion was deferred until 

1 Gilpin, Madison Papers, i, 27; Hist, of (he Confederation, Secret Jour nab of 
ess, i, 294. 

1 Gilpin, Madison Papers, i. 34 3 Ibid., \, 35. 

.'., i, 3S ; // 'oris of John Adams, ii, 501. 

5 hist, of the Confederation, Secret Journals of Congress, i, 304-15. 

8 /Wrf.,i,349. 



gg RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION | 1 86 

the next session.- On February 9, they were taken ^ and 
a committee directed to draw up instructs to the delegates 
authorizing them to sign in behalf ol the state. As reported 
horn the commhtee and adopted, the instructs embodied 
hree amendments. These were: first, that m case of s ck- 
ness death, or other unavoidable accident, a state m.ght be 
resented by one delegate; second, that an estmra te o 
valuation be provided every five years th.rd, that as he 
unoccupied lands formerly held by the crown had been 
taken by the common efforts of all the states, they should be 
held as common property. To that end all such lands should 
^forfeited to the United States, jurisdiction rem.rn.ng m 
the s at where they might lie. The first two of these 
lendments were prompted not only by ~ono»y £t by, 
fear that an unjust burden might be thrown upon the state 
Th, thhd was the expression of Rhode Island's position on 
*.t q "°f the pub«c domain which was destine to 
that question v historv f the confederation. 

£ir ^"gh strain 0, patriotism 
Cannot but be admired in contrast «— 

S laid" ££ A« * ASSemWy deem 'I 

your utm e acceding| on the 

^ of It state he Articles of Confederation; taking 

Pa " tLt he proposed amendments and alterations be 
pevi u y "n^ed u on the records o, the Congress, t at , 
may appear that they were made before the s.gnmg of the 

. a<„ ^R«**4» «-«./—* (**>• -m «• "■ D «- * I7 "- 

. Ad. W*«*" °f»" GtntratAvnM, (MS.), m*. ™>- ">■ '^ 



187] A PERIOD OF HARMONY 69 

confederation ; and that this state intends hereafter to renew 
the motion for them. This Assembly trusting that Congress, 
at some future time, convinced of their utility and justice, 
will adopt them, and they will be confirmed by all the states." ' 
This was followed by a formal act empowering the delegates 
to sign the articles in such form " as Congress shall think 
best adapted to a transaction so important to the present 
and future generations," " provided that eight states should 
accede to the same. Moreover, in case any alterations or 
additions should be made by nine states in Congress, the 
delegates were likewise to ratify them. The assembly 
pledged the faith of the state to hold the action of her dele- 
gates in signing the articles, binding on the state for all time. 
In this action the state not only ratified the articles as pro- 
posed, but trusted to the judgment of nine states so far as to 
ratify in advance whatever they might propose thereafter. 

In the meantime other states were considering the same 
subject, and by the end of July, 1778, the delegates from 
ten states had affixed their signatures to the instrument. 
The refusal of New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland to do 
likewise forced upon the young nation the question of a na- 
tional domain. The extension of the British claim to terri- 
tory beyond the Alleghanies, and the extinguishment of that 
of the French, had brought vast tracts of land under the con- 
trol of the English government. To whom would the Decla- 
ration of Independence, if sustained by the strong arm of 
victory, transfer the title to this noble possession? Did 
the title pass to those states which by their charters were 
granted jurisdiction in these western wilds, or was it to be 
absorbed by the nation by whose united efforts it was 
wrested from Britain? 

The larger states, claiming title and jurisdiction under 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), 177S, Feb. 16, 1778. 
U Island Colonial Records, viii, 366; Journals of Congress, ii, 612. 



j RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [ T 88 

charters, went on their way disturbed only by the disputes 
aroused by conflicting grants from the crown. To the 
smaller states, whose restricted limits gave them no hope of 
jurisdiction over lands in the west, it was left to make the 
creation of a national domain a vital issue. Six states laid 
no claim to western territory. These were New Hampshire, 
Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and 
Maryland. Of these, Rhode Island, Delaware, and Mary- 
land, having no private territorial disputes, were in a more 
favorable postion to oppose the claims of the larger states. 

During the discussion of the Articles of Confederation, 
Maryland was active in endeavoring to curtail the boundaries 
of the larger states, and to hold the lands beyond for the 
benefit of the Union. 1 The feeble support lent by the others 
revealed a lack of unanimity as to detail even among them. 
The position of Rhode Island was indicated in the third of 
the proposed amendments accompanying her ratification. 
She was firmly of the opinion that the vacant lands should 
constitute a national domain, but expressly denied any in- 
tention that jurisdiction should vest in Congress. 2 New 
Jersey held a similar opinion. 3 After hesitation she yielded 
on November 26, 1778. The object of both Rhode Island 
and New Jersey was to secure a revenue for the payment of 
the war debt. It was unequal wealth rather than unequal 
political power that they feared. Delaware considered the 
articles " in divers respects unequal and disadvantageous," 
but convinced that the interests of particular states should 
subserve the good of all, she, on February 1, 1779, in- 
structed her delegates to sign the articles. Maryland alone 
had not given her consent, nor would she do so until some 

1 yournah of Congress, ii, 290. 

8 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), 1778, Feb. 16, 1778. 

3 fournals of Congress, ii, 603. 



I 89] A PERIOD OF HARMONY y l 

means should be found to limit the boundaries of the larger 
states. Her contention was that both title and jurisdiction 
should vest in Congress. Strongly intrenched in this posi- 
tion, Maryland held out until New York, Connecticut, and 
Virginia had taken steps towards ceding to the national gov- 
ernment their western lands, when, on March 1, r 78 1 , her 
delegates signed the Articles of Confederation. At last the 
Confederation became a legal fact. 

Throughout the whole constitutional movement, from the 
first steps toward union till the adoption of the Articles of 
Confederation, the colony and state of Rhode Island had 
pursued a consistent policy of co-operation. In the acts 
of her legislature, and in instructions to her delegates, she 
had ever been in the forefront of patriotism. In fact, from 
the beginning of the Stamp Act difficulties, harmony had 
marked all her relations with the other states. There had 
been a common enemy to oppose, common rights to main- 
tain, and a common existence to perpetuate, but nowhere 
was there a surrender of individuality. 



CHAPTER III 

A PERIOD OF DISCORD 

THROUGHOUT the struggle with England the thirteen 
commonwealths had acted harmoniously. While asserting 
repeatedly their complete independence of each other and 
of Britain, they had allowed the assumption by Congress of 
many attributes of sovereignty, made necessary by the exi- 
gencies of war. The inadequacy of the first formal state- 
ment of the relations between the states and the United 
States was perceived even before it was adopted. At the 
close of 1780, it seemed as if a crisis had arrived. With de- 
mands on the states for money availing little, and credit al- 
most gone, Congress found itself helpless. The army was 
suffering to the point of mutiny, from the lack of pay, pro- 
visions, and clothing. Heroic measures were necessary. 
"If we mean to continue our struggle," said Washington, 
"we must do it upon an entirely new plan. Ample powers 
must be lodged in Congress, as the head of the Federal 
union, adequate to all the purposes of war." ' Again, 
"There can be no radical cure till Congress is vested by the 
states with full and ample powers to enact laws for general 
purposes." 2 Only then would ruinous delays cease. As a 
step toward greater efficiency Congress, on the third of 
February, 1781, took into consideration a resolution offered 
by Dr. Witherspoon of New Jersey, that it was absolutely 
necessary that Congress have power to superintend the com- 
mercial regulations of every state, and to lay duties on all 

1 Ford, Writings of Washington, ix, 13. 2 Ibid., ix, 126. 

72 [190 



19 1 ] A PERIOD OF DISCORD 73 

imported articles, with the consent of nine states. Though 
this was lost, Congress, on the same day, recommended to 
the states that it was absolutely necessary that it be vested 
with power to lay a duty of five per cent, ad valorem on all 
goods, with certain exceptions, imported after May 1, 1781, 
and to lay a similar duty on all prizes condemned in an}- port. 
The revenue so raised was to be employed in discharging the 
principal and interest of the public debt incurred on account 
of the war. The duration of the grant was to be until such 
debt should be paid. 1 This resolution, together with urgent 
solicitations that it be adopted, was sent at once to the 
states. 2 The necessity of the case was set forth so forcibly 
that responses began at once to come in. Connecticut led, 
on March eighth, closely seconded by New York. New 
Hampshire and Pennsylvania signified their acquiescence in 
April, followed by New Jersey two months later. Though 
Virginia ratified in May, her grant was not to take effect un- 
til August. North Carolina and Delaware gave their con- 
sent in the autumn. South Carolina and Maryland came in 
laggardly in February and April, 1782. Massachusetts did 
not make the grant until 1782, and then reserved the right to 
appoint the collectors. Georgia had given evidence of a 
favorable disposition, but Rhode Island remained silent. 

Here is the point at which Rhode Island departed from 
that hearty acquiescence which she had shown in everything 
tending to united action. The cause of such a departure 
must involve some new element now entering for the first 
time into inter-state relations. What was that new element? 
Congress had had the general direction of the war, of foreign 
affairs, and of the common interests of the states while strug- 
gling for liberty. None of these involved any interference 

1 "Journals of Congress, iii, 573. 

x Rhode Island Archives (MS.), letters, rjSo-i, 24 (Circular of President of 
Congress to Governors). 



74 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [ ICj 2 

with the machinery of local government. The taxing power, 
above all, had been held in the hands of the states. Now a 
tax was proposed to be collected in the state by an external 
authority. Whatever may have been the status of the states 
under the Continental Congress and the Articles of Confed- 
eration, according to modern theory, from the express terms 
of the Articles of Confederation, and from the writings of 
that day, it is evident that each state intended to retain its 
"sovereignty, freedom and independence," 1 saving the 
powers delegated in the articles. Among those which they 
did not give up was the power of the purse. It was in the 
demand for that power that Rhode Island saw an encroach- 
ment on her independence, a doctrine of which was ex- 
pressed in the instructions to the Congressional delegates, in 
May, 1776, "to secure to this colony in the strongest and 
most perfect manner its present established form, and all the 
powers of government, as far as it relates to its internal 
police and conduct of our own affairs civil and religious." 2 

This conception of liberty is the mainspring of Rhode 
Island's action in 1781, and in the years that follow down to 
1790. Its full import was brought out in the discussions that 
followed through weary months. Though the men at home 
were narrow and saw the world about them only through the 
exaggerated perspective of provincialism, Rhode Island's rep- 
resentatives in the hall and in the field viewed the situation 
aright. From these men came the first expressions of opinion 
on the subject. In a letter to Governor Greene, Gen. James 
M. Varnum, delegate in Congress, characterized as the two 
great points of weakness in the government, the lack of 
power in Congress to draw out the resources of the country, 
and the jealousy existing among the members of Congress. 
" Prudent caution against the abuse of power is very re- 

1 Articles of Confederation, Article I. 
3 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vii, 526. 



j^] A PERIOD OF DISCORD 75 

quisitc for supporting the principles of republican govern- 
ment, but when that caution is carried too far, the event 
may and probably will prove alarming." 1 He realized that 
it was only a matter of time when a convention must be 
called to revise the frame of government. 

Not until the request of Congress had been six months 
before the states, does there appear the slightest evidence of 
its consideration in Rhode Island. In August, 1781, the 
delegates, Varnum and Mowry, wrote from Congress to Gov- 
ernor Greene : " We are at a loss to conjecture the rumors 
which have induced the state of Rhode Island to delay com- 
plying with the requisition of Congress respecting the five 
per cent, duty." " No response was vouchsafed until Octo- 
ber, when in a letter to Robert Morris, the Governor says of 
the proposed grant: "We are unable to determine on the 
utility of that measure . . . We shall wait until our sister 
states have adopted the same, and whatever is for the ad- 
vantage of the union, we shall cheerfully accede to." 3 So 
the matter rested until General Varnum, relieved by the 
presence of his colleagues from attendance in Congress, re- 
turned home at the close of 1 781, to exert his inflence for 
the impost. 

Productions from the pen of the opposition were not 
wanting before Varnum entered the arena. A letter which 
appeared in the Providence Gazette of January 26, 1782, 
over the signature, " Dixit Senex," is typical of the attitude 
of the party. " Congress," said this writer, " may call on us 
for money, but cannot prescribe to us methods of raising it; 
that is within our sovereignty, and lies wholly in the power 
of our own legislature."* He anticipates the introduction of 

1 Rhode Island Archives (MS.), Letters, iySo-i, 47. 
' Rhode Island Archives (MS.), Letters, i?Si-2,$. 
s Rhode Island Colonial Records, ix, 485. 
* Providence Gazette, Jan. 26, 1782. 



76 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [794 

strange tax-gatherers and excisemen, and would debar all 
members of the legislature from holding any revenue office. 
In a series of articles over the signature of " Citizen," 
Varnum demonstrates the desirability of a stable revenue, 
which, if easily collected, would prove a great blessing, 
essential to the ending of the war. 1 The theory of American 
nationality developed by him was purely federal. He 
says : " Were we to contemplate the United States sepa- 
rately, as composing thirteen distinct sovereignties uncon- 
nected with and independent of each other, the requisition 
in question would appear totally absurd and ridiculous. 
This, however, is not the case." "' From the union under 
the Continental Congress, the Declaration of Independence, 
and the harmonious action of the states, he drew the con- 
clusion of the existence of a single nation, and denied the 
independence of the states. 

Such utterances called forth a champion for the opposi- 
tion, hitherto unknown to political fame, in the person of 
David Howell, a lawyer of Providence, and a professor in 
Brown University. It is in his writings that we find the 
most able presentation of the opposition cause. 3 The first 
of his letters in the Gazette, in reply to Varnum, compared 
the impost proposition to the Stamp Act. On the strict 
construction of the Articles of Confederation he relied for 
proof of the sovereignty of the states, and he utterly denied 
any inherent sovereignty in Congress. As a restriction on 
commerce, he opposed the impost. For, said he, " It is 
against the welfare of any commercial state to clog and 

1 The articles of Varnum, signed " Citizen" are in the Providence Gazette of 
Mar. 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30, Apr. 20, and May 18, 1782. 

''■Providence Gazette, March 16, 1782. 

3 Howell's articles in the Gazette over the signature " A Farmer" appeared. 
March 23 and 30, and April 6 and 10. 



19 --i A PERIOD OF DISCORD J J 

embarrass trade with any restrictions or duties whatsoever." 1 
If duties were necessary, Rhode Island should lay her own. 
On the assumptfon that import duties are borne by the im- 
porter, he argued that when duties were levied under the 
Articles of Confederation, Rhode Island paid one-fiftieth of 
the whole amount, but under the proposed plan, granting 
that she owned one twenty-fifth of the shipping of the states, 
she would pay one twenty-fifth of the tax. In another letter 
Howell gives a resume of his objections to the impost. He 
acknowledges Rhode Island's duty to pay her quota, but 
only according to the method prescribed in the Articles of 
Confederation. He considered it the most precious jewel of 
a state's sovereignty that it could not be called on to open 
its purse but by the authority of its own legislature. Should 
customs officers be introduced from without, there would be 
no means of controlling them. The funds collected would 
be turned into the general treasury, where the taxpayers 
could not observe their disbursement. If there was any 
benefit to be derived from the power to lay duties, the state 
should retain it, for the inland states in their turn would not 
surrender their peculiar privileges. The grant was further 
considered too indefinite. The time was not specified and 
the grant was irrevocable. In short, Rhode Island admitted 
her duty to pay her quota of taxes, but would brook no de- 
parture from the terms of the Articles of Confederation. ' 

Here the controversy rested for a brief time. The Fabian 
policy of the opposition had kept the question out of the 
assembly for more than a year. The first result of this 
struggle was the retirement of Ellery, Varnum and Mowry 
from Congress, and the election of delegates less favorable 
to the impost. These were John Collins, the future paper 
money governor, General Ezekiel Cornell, Jonathan Arnold, 

1 Providence Gazette, March 30, 17S2. 
' Ibid., April 13, 17S2. 



78 RHODE ISLAXD AXD THE UNI \~\g6 

and. most notable of all, David Howell. The latter wa 
structed to proceed at once to Congress, where he soon had 
occasion once more to defend the position of his state, this 
time before a Congressional committee. At the request 
of a committee appointed to inquire why Georgia 
Rhode Island had not granted the impost, Howell app -. 
to defend his state. As in his newspaper writings he 
spoken to his neighbors, so now he spoke to the whole 
country. His objections, as expressed before the commit- 
tee, were four in number: 

i. The proposed system tended to raise a rev en v. 
use of the general government and not of the state. This 
would be paid by the merchants, and, should they be unable 
to obtain a correspondingly higher price for their goods, 
they would be crushed out of existence. Such a burden 
would rest more heavily on Rhode Island than on any other 
from the preponderance of the mercantile and manu- 
facturing classes, and her inability to produce agricultural 
products sufficient for her own markets. 

2. Rhode Island had suffered heavily from the ravages of 
war. Newport, which in 1774. sent out one hundred and 
fifty sail, now sent out but three. To compensate for her 
losses, the state should retain the power of laying duties. 
More especially should this be done in self defense, so long 
as the larger states persisted in claiming western lands. 

3. It would be derogatory to the dignity of a state to 
permit for fficers within her boundaries, collecting a 
revenue under some external authority. All revenue col- 

I in the state should be handled by her own officers, 
and stand to her individual credit. 

The terms of the grant were too indefinite. Though 
the intentions of the present Congress were honorable, their 
successors, by keeping the national debt outstanding, might 
perpetuate the impost. The states would be powerless to 
prevent it. 



!97] A PKRIOD OF DISCORD 79 

In closing, Howell suggested two amendments : first, that 
the states retain the power of appointing collectors; second, 
that the revenue collected in each state be credited to the 
account of that state. Thus the presence of officers of the 
central government would be avoided, and Rhode Island 
would be the gainer, owing to the position which she ex- 
pected again to assume in the commercial world.' 

To counteract Howell's influence at home, Robert Morris 
wrote an elaborate letter to Governor Greene, taking up the 
objections made by Howell and disposing of them one by 
one.-' His arguments did not differ in substance from those 
employed elsewhere by the advocates of the measure, and 
were based on the propriety of the act and the exigencies of 
the time. He enlarged on the fact that, to continue and 
lighten the present burdens, the revenue was necessary. 
The refusal of Rhode Island would defeat the whole plan. 
The entreaties of Morris were of no avail, for the aversion to 
the impost was too strong to yield to persuasion. 

On October 10, 1782, wearied at the procrastination of 
Georgia and Rhode Island, Congress passed a resolution de- 
manding of those states a definite answer; 1 Repeated assur- 
ances of acquiescence left no doubt as to the final action of 
Georgia, but of Rhode Island there was no hope. With the 
question now fairly put before the state, Howell, in writing to 
his friend Theodore Foster, said : " The crisis has at length 
arrived. ... I hope those who have undertaken to contend 
for the liberties of their country and retain the zeal of 1775 
will [display] it on this occasion. ... I doubt not my 
friend but you will make every honorable effort to prevent 
this fatal measure from being carried into effect. ... I hope 
every exertion will be made on the occasion by the friends 

1 Rhode Island Archives ( MSJ), Letters, 1781-2, July 30, 17S2. 
7 Rhode Island Archives (.US.), letters, 17S2-3, 1. 
■ journals of Congress, iv, 86. 



80 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [jgg 

of liberty and free trade. . . . Should it be adopted, I shall 
no longer consider myself as the representative of a sov- 
ereign and free state, but wish to be recalled. But I cannot 
suspect the firmness of our assembly. I hope they will not 
be driven into any measure. This is but an entering wedge, 
others will follow, a land tax, a poll tax and an excise." ' 
To Moses Brown, Howell expressed his conviction that the 
state of Rhode Island would support him in his opposition 
to the impost.' 2 Both Howell and Arnold endeavored to im- 
press the assembly with the necessity of withholding the 
impost while the western lands were still held by some states 
to the prejudice of others. 3 In a last appeal the delegates 
even questioned the right of the assembly to make such a 
grant. Would it not, they argued, be an infringement on 
the rights of future assemblies, to make such a perpetual 
grant of money? Why should they not cling to the old 
method, under which Rhode Island had ever been ready to 
contribute to the extent of her ability? 

While the impost was pending before the assembly, Con- 
gress called for the quotas of supplies from the states for the 
ensuing year. Howell made an attempt to secure the col- 
lection of this tax separately from the state taxes, to be sub- 
ject only to the order of Congress, or of the Superintendent 
of Finance. But, instead of this, was adopted a plan em- 
bodying the same thought, and further, the appointment of 
a receiver in each state to hold the funds. The receiver was 
to have the rights possessed by the state treasurers against 
delinquent collectors. 4 The making of collectors responsible 
to a receiver, instead of to the treasurer, was considered by 
Howell and Arnold a sufficient departure from established 

1 Foster Correspondence (MS.), i, 20. 

8 Moses Brown Papers (MS.), iv, 23. 

3 Rhode Island Archives (MS.), Letters, 1782-3, 23. 

* Journals of Congress, iv, 91. 



199] 



A PERIOD OF DISCORD 



custom to warrant their strongest opposition. The appoint- 
ment of a receiver was but one degree less obnoxious than 
the appointment of customs officers by Congress. It would, 
they contended, supersede in part one of the state officers, 
and introduce a new functionary unknown to the constitu- 
tion, and irresponsible to the people.' 

The assembly met at East Greenwich on the last Monday 
in October, and on the first day of November, with fifty- 
three of the whole number sixty-eight present, voted unani- 
mously against the impost.' In reporting the result to 
Congress, Speaker Bradford stated three reasons for rejec- 
tion : 

i. The plan would be unequal in operation, bearing most 
heavily on the commercial states. 

2. It proposed to introduce into the state, officers unknown 
and irresponsible to the state government. Hence the 
measure would be unconstitutional. 

3. The grant was not limited in time. Since Congress 
was not accountable to the states for its expenditures, it 
would be placed in an independent position, repugnant to 
the liberties of the state. 

The writer hastened, however, to assure Congress of the 
loyalty of the state, and her willingness to bear her share of 
the burdens of the nation. 3 Along with the rejection of the 
impost, as if in anticipation of the tumult that act was to 
excite, instructions were sent to the delegates in Congress, 
" To vindicate and support with a becoming firmness on all 
occasions, such of the acts of the General Assembly of this 
state as respect the United States at large, and to use their 

1 Rhode Island Archives (J/5), letters, 17S2-3, 30. 

* Providence Gtu 2, 1782. As the question did not come before the 
upper house, it does not appear on the MS. records. 

* Journals of Con <fr ess, iv, 1 16. 



8 2 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [ 2 oo 

utmost exertions to prevent any infringement being made on 
the sovereignty and independence thereof." ' 

The scene now changes to the halls of Congress, where 
Bradford's official announcement was not read until Decem- 
ber twelfth. The unofficial report had been but a few days in 
reaching the expectant ear of Congress. When, on Decem- 
ber sixth, a resolution was passed, urging compliance with 
the requisition for 1783, a provision was inserted that a dep- 
utation be sent to Rhode Island to impress the necessity of 
the impost. ' 2 In spite of the protest of Howell and Arnold, 
such a deputation was appointed. 3 The action of Rhode 
Island becoming known unofficially, a committee, on De- 
cember eleventh, reported a letter to be sent to the governor 
of that state remonstrating against such action, and demand- 
ing a special session of the assembly to reconsider the ques- 
tion and receive the message of the deputation/ On receipt 
of Bradford's letter, a long reply was at once drawn up to 
disprove the allegations contained in it. 5 

Rumors now began to come in that Maryland was medi- 
tating a revocation of her grant. Delaying their departure 
to learn the truth, the Rhode Island deputation did not set 
out until December twenty-second. Half a day's journey 
from Philadelphia, they were overtaken by the news that 
Virginia had repealed her grant. They at once returned 
and two days later were discharged from their mission. The 
response of Rhode Island was a new departure. No other 
state, however it hampered its grant, had refused outright. 
Though it had almost been assured that she would reject the 
impost, still the announcement that she had actually done so 
created a profound sensation. As the news spread through 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), Nov. 2, 1782. 
1 Journals of Congress, iv, 1 15 ; Gilpin, Madison Papers, i, 225. 
3 Rhode Island Archives (MS.), Letters, 1782-3, 33. 
* Journals of Congress, iv, 116. 5 Ibid., iv, 118. 



201] A PERIOD OF DISCORD 83 

the states, comment was by no means in all cases depreca- 
tory. Many people were, in the words of a Pennsylvanian, 
"pleased to find that the State of Rhode Island .... have 
unanimously resolved not to invest them with the power of 
levying five per cent." ' 

Through the whole struggle, David Howell had stood out 
as the chief opponent. Again and again he had obstructed 
the cherished plans of the government. Now he had de- 
feated the most important of all. His own feelings at the 
defeat of the impost found expression in an address to the 
people of Rhode Island, wherein he declared that their op- 
position to British oppression would not rank the state 
higher in the annals of America, than the firmness and una- 
nimity with which they rejected the impost.' 2 With Howell's 
influence predominant, it was felt that hope for a change of 
sentiment in Rhode Island was vain. To destroy his influ- 
ence, on the same day that the deputation to Rhode Island was 
appointed, a committee was chosen to inquire into the author- 
ship of certain statements which had lately appeared in the 
newspapers. Through these publications it was feared that, 
"as well the national character of the United States and the 
honor of Congress, as the finances of the said state, may be 
injured and the public service greatly retarded." 8 

The committee reported that they had particularly noted 
a letter in the Boston Gazette of November 10, 1782, under 
the heading, Providence, purporting to have been written 
from Philadelphia to a man in that town. The questionable 
passage was in these words: "This day letters have been 
read in Congress from Mr. Adams of the sixteenth of 
August, and Mr. Dumas, his secretary, of the nineteenth. 

1 Providence Gazette, Dec. 18, 1782. 

2 Ibid., April 12, 1782. 

1 Gilpin, Madison Papers, i, 223; Rhode Island Archives (.U.S.), letters, 1782-3, 
33,44, where there is a certified copy of the motion. 



84 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UN1CN [202 

The loan he is negotiating fills as fast as could be expected. 
The national importance of the United States is constantly- 
rising in the estimation of European powers and the civilized 
world. Such is their credit that they have of late failed in 
no application for loans, and the only danger on that score is 
that of contracting too large a debt." 1 Investigation, said the 
committee, had proved the statements ill founded and un- 
true. From internal evidence it was suspected that the 
author was a member of Congress. To reach the truth in 
the matter, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs was directed to 
request from the executive of Rhode Island the discovery of 
the author. That such a course was unnecessary, there is 
good evidence, for Madison says : " The unanimous suspic- 
ions were fixed on Mr. Howell." But it was thought that a 
detection of the person suspected "would destroy in that 
state that influence which he exerted in misleading its coun- 
sels with respect to the impost." ' l 

Mr. Howell having acknowledged the authorship of the 
writings in question, it was moved that the Secretary of For- 
eign Affairs be discharged from his instructions, because of 
" Mr. Howell, a delegate from the State of Rhode Island, hav- 
ing acknowledged himself the author of the extract of the 
letter quoted in the report of the committee." : Howell at 
once moved to postpone this motion which placed his name 
on the journal in such a connection, to consider a similar 
motion, accompanied by a formal acknowledgement of the 
writings with his justification. He denied the authority of 
Congress over his correspondence with the state executive. 
•The very existence of such a committee, he declared, was 

1 For this and other extracts appearing in the newspapers, and the proceedings 
of Congress thereon, see certified copy of the proceedings of Congress in Rhode 
Island Archives {MS.), Letters, 1782-3; also Journals of Congress, iv, 1 1 8. For 
publication see Providence Gazette, Nov. 2, 1 782. 

2 Gilpin, Madison Papers, i, 223. 

:i Journals 0/ Congress, iv, 120; Gilpin, Madison Popers, i, 223. 



203] A PERIOD OF DISCORD 85 

derogatory to the dignity of Congress, and tended to estab- 
lish a precedent dangerous to the freedom of the press, the 
palladium of liberty both civil and religious. He maintained 
that the writings in question were substantially true, as could 
be proven by documents then in the possession of Congress. 
But he protested against the publication or placing on the 
journal of one's utterances in a mutilated form. The original 
motion prevailed, followed by another, made by Hamilton, 
that " Congress having, in respect to the Articles of Confed- 
eration, admitted on their journals an entry of a motion 
made by Mr. Howell, seconded by Mr. Arnold, highly de- 
rogatory to the dignity and honor of the United States in 
Congress assembled : Resolved, that a committee be ap- 
pointed to report such measures as it will be proper for 
Congress to take thereon." ' Accordingly the Secretary of 
Foreign Affairs was directed to transmit Howell's motion, 
together with a statement of the foreign loans to the execu- 
tive of Rhode Island, with a view of proving the falsity of the 
writings. 2 But when, two weeks later, Arnold moved to for- 
ward to his state executive certain letters substantiating 
Howell's disputed statements, the motion was postponed. 
That the circumstance might not be used by Howell in justi- 
fication of his action, the matter was referred to a committee, 
and the proceedings on the whole affair were placed on the 
secret journal.' Such procedure was irregular and adopted 
only in the last extremity, to baffle Howell in attempting to 
make his position secure at home. It was even doubted by 
some, whether it was within the jurisdiction of Congress to 
do so.' Realizing that they had overshot the mark, and fear- 

1 Journals of Congress, iv, 122; Rhode Island Archil es {MS. ), letters, JjSj-j, 2. 

* Journals 0/ Congress, iv, 1 22-3. 

:1 Secret Journals of Congress, i, 249; Rhode Island Archives {MS.), letters, 
1782-3, 45. 

* Gilpin, Madison Papers, i, 246. 



86 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [204 

mg that greater harm than advantage would come from the 
affair, Congress, on January fourteenth, voted to transmit to 
Rhode Island Arnold's motion, with the documents therein 
mentioned. 1 

When the contest was virtually at an end, the whole 
matter was laid before the assembly. The expression of 
that body's approbation of the acts of the delegates was 
made in a series of resolutions, transmitted to Congress. 
These were : 

( 1 ) " That the motion containing a declaration and protest 
made by Mr. Howell and seconded by Mr. Arnold, as entered 
on the journals of Congress, of the eighteenth day of Decem- 
ber, in the year 1782, appears to be just, true and proper, 
aud that this general assembly do highly approve of the 
conduct of the delegates in making said motion, declaration 
and protest." 

(2) "That the extracts of letters from the secretary of for- 
eign affairs, laid before this general assembly, do fully justify 
the representations made by this state to its delegates in re- 
gard to the success of the late applications of Congress for 
foreign loans, and in regard to our credit and reputation in 
Europe." 

(3) That this general assembly entertain a high sense 
of the meritorious services rendered to the state and to 
the cause of freedom in general by the firm and patriotic 
conduct of the said delegates, particularly in their strenuous 
exertions to defeat the operations of measures, which the 
state considered dangerous to public liberty. 

(4) That his excellency, the governor of this state, return 
an answer to the aforesaid letter of his excellency, the presi- 
dent of Congress, enclosing a copy of these resolutions." a 

Rhode Island had repeatedly declared her willingness to 

1 Journals of Congress, iv, 142. 

'- Acts and Resolves of 'the General Assembly (AIS.), Feb. 8, 1783. 



205] A PERIOD OF DISCORD 87 

raise her quota of the national revenue, provided it could be 
raised by state authority. Having carried her point against 
the five per cent, impost, she at once laid an import duty 
exactly like that proposed by Congress. 1 \ 

The contest over the import duty had proved the Rhode 
Island champion to be the ultra state-rights member of 
the Continental Congress. Holding strong opinions, and 
forced often to maintain them against great odds, he some- 
times overstepped the bounds of parliamentary courtesy, 
and practiced a vigorous obstruction policy. Of his sincerity 
and singleness of purpose there is ample evidence, not only 
in his own public writings, but in his private correspondence. 
To Theodore Foster he wrote : " I wish my constituents to 
know every sentiment I have advanced and every vote I 
have given. If I have been wrong I may then be informed 
of it and put right. If I have been right I shall receive that 
approbation from the good and virtuous which every earnest 
servant of the public is entitled to. This is the reward I 
covet." 3 

Were further evidence required, it could be found in the 
letters of his colleague, Dr. Arnold. Of Howell he said: 
" It appears to have been his first and only wish to serve his 
country generally, and especially his constituents, with un- 
shaken fidelity. . . . He clearly understood the Articles of 
Confederation, and distinguished between the rights relin- 
quished and those retained. . . . He has vindicated himself 
with a firmness becoming a representative of a free state." 1 

In reviewing Rhode Island's action on the impost, its 
motives may be reduced to three : 

(1) A misunderstanding of the effects of an import duty. 

(2) Anxiety respecting the disposal of western lands. 

1 Providence Gazette, March 15, 1 783. 

1 Foster Correspondence (A/S.),\, 20. 

' Rhode Island Archil es (MS.), letters, 17S2-3, 34. 



gg RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [206 

(3) A jealousy of yielding to outside authority any power 
over her internal affairs. 

In relation to an impost, Rhode Island stood in a peculiar 
position. She was the only small state in which commerce 
and manufactures predominated. No state was so depend- 
ent on its neighbors for agricultural products. To restore 
the former commerce of the state was the dream of the new 
race of merchants. Free trade was to be the foster-mother 
of their enterprise, but, they agreed, should a duty be levied, 
it must be paid by the importer. He might or might not be 
able to add this to the price of his goods. In case it was 
added, the neighboring states would probably raise corres- 
pondingly the price of their products. The proceeds from 
the duty, instead of remaining in the state to balance this 
enhanced price, would be withdrawn for the use of the gen- 
eral government. Should the neighboring states be pro- 
voked to lay an embargo against her, the state would be in 
a sorry plight. 

The attitude of the state toward the public domain was 
similar to that of New Jersey, in that she did not contend for 
national jurisdiction over the territory. 1 She simply de- 
manded that the proceeds from the sale of such lands should 
accrue to the benefit of the general treasury. In accordance 
with their instructions from the first discussions of the sub- 
ject her delegates contended earnestly " for this state's pro- 
portion of vacant or back lands." 2 Filled with this plan for 
the solution of the financial difficulties of the nation, Rhode 
Island refused to yield her peculiar advantages until she was 
assured of a fair share of the proceeds of this great domain. 

The extreme individualism developed in the people of 
Rhode Island by their history and surroundings was a 
marked trait in their character. A century of constant 

1 yournals of Congress, ii, 605. 

2 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), Nov. 2, 1782. 



207] A PERIOD OF DISCORD 89 

struggle to preserve their chartered rights had created a jeal- 
ousy of all outside interference in their affairs, which it re- 
quired but the proposition to transfer to Congress the power 
of collecting a revenue within the state to rouse. In her re- 
fusal to grant this power to Congress, Rhode Island for the 
first time opposed the united will of the states. 

But as the prospect of securing the grant of the impost 
faded, the necessity of a stable revenue became more and 
more painfully evident. The opening of the year 1783 
found the revenue the topic for consideration before Con- 
gress. To heighten their anxieties, a memorial was pre- 
sented from the officers of the army, setting forth in the 
strongest terms their desperate situation. Dissatisfaction 
was gaining ground in the ranks on account of the pay 
which was in arrears. It was fully realized that the public 
debt must be paid or the interest met. The former was out 
of the question ; the latter became an imperative necessity. 
Under the existing powers of Congress, this interest must 
be met by requisitions, or by the establishment of perma- 
nent funds in the states. The first had proved impracticable ; 
the second would rouse state jealousies. The late ex- 
periences with Rhode Island made hope in this direction 
almost vain. The only resource left was to obtain, through 
additional powers conferred on Congress, a general revenue, 
but under such restrictions as would make it acceptable to 
the unwilling members. The declaration by supporters of a 
liberal construction of the powers of Congress that, as that 
body was authorized to borrow money, it had the power to 
raise money to repay it, stirred the strict construction spirit 
of Rhode Island.' Her delegates asserted that no power 
not expressly authorized by the Articles of Confederation 
could be exercised, and that any argumentative construction 
was abhorrent to freedom. 

' ( lilpin, Madison Papers, i, 296. 



go RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [ 2 o8 

The deliberations of Congress crystallized into a resolu- 
tion, proposing to the states for their ratification a plan for 
raising a revenue, which was adopted on April eighteenth, 
1783. The Rhode Island delegates, together with Hamilton, 
and Higginson of Massachusetts, voted in the negative. 1 As 
it went out to the states, the scheme included : 

(1) A duty on imports. 

(2) A permanent revenue, to continue twenty-five years, 
to be raised by the states to meet the annual quotas of 
fifteen million dollars. 

(3) An amendment to the Articles of Confederation 
changing the basis of apportionment of taxes among the 
states from that of real estate to an apportionment according 
to population. 

This plan, which was to take effect when agreed to by all 
the states, was essentially a revival of the plan of 1781, 
modified in some particulars. It provided for a specific 
duty on liquors, tea, coffee, cocoa, pepper, and sugar, and an 
ad valorem duty of five per cent, on all other imports. The 
proceeds were to be employed in paying the debt incurred 
by the war. In the discussion of the plan of 1781, objection 
had been made, particularly by Howell, that the term of the 
grant was too indefinite ; that by neglecting to discharge 
the public debt the grant might be made perpetual. To 
obviate this objection, the act was limited, illogically per- 
haps, to twenty-five years. Again, it had been objected, 
that there would be introduced into the state officers ap- 
pointed by Congress and unaccountable to the state govern- 
ment. But since, to have left this function to be exercised 
by officers both appointed by and responsible to the state 
would have been to continue the old system, a compromise 
gave the appointment of these officers to the state, but re- 
tained the control of them in Congress. Profiting by another 

1 Journals of Congress, iv, 190. 



209] A PERI0D 0F DISCORD 9I 

criticism of the former plan, the states were to receive an 
annual statement of the receipts under the law. To say that 
Rhode Island was the cause of the features peculiar to this 
plan, would be too sweeping an assertion. It is interesting 
to note, however, that every change in the part providing for 
an impost, excepting the introduction of a specific duty, was 
suggested by that state in her objections to the impost 
of 1 78 1. 

Along with this scheme was issued an address to the 
states, emphasizing the desperate circumstances of the 
national finances, as well as the relief to be expected from 
the proposed measure. The situation was brought out more 
clearly by accompanying documents, among which was the 
letter sent to Rhode Island, on December sixteenth, 1782, in 
answer to that state's rejection of the impost, inserted as 
containing a most carefully prepared reply to the objections 
to the plan of 1781. This is the letter which Howell said 
would " remain on the journal of Congress as a monument 
of the ingenuity and zeal of the day in which it was written." 1 
It was hoped that with so many concessions, the new impost 
might receive the support of all. But that this letter should 
now be reissued and brought to the notice of all the states, 
did not tend to incline Rhode Island toward compliance. 
That it was not merely the specific duty that displeased the 
delegates of that state, but that they were firmly set against 
the whole system, was soon evident. The only specific ob- 
jection made by them still remaining, was that the collectors 
were removable by Congress. Now they took refuge 
behind this single point, and fought as hotly as ever. Ex- 
pressing their strong disapproval of the plan, they laid it 
before the general assembly for their consideration. The 
appointment of customs officers under this system, they 
alleged, would be incompatible with the state constitution, 

1 Rhode Island Archives (.VS.), I et/ers, ijSj-j;, 22. 



g 2 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [2IQ 

which provided for annual appointments. The appointment 
of officers to become independent of the authority appoint- 
ing them would be a constant menace to justice. 1 

The proposition so vigorously urged upon the states was 
first acted on by Delaware, followed in early summer by 
Pennsylvania. In Rhode Island, for a whole year, no official 
notice of the matter was taken. The only references to it 
are in the letters of the delegates, and in brief notes in the 
newspapers. It was on September eighth, 1783, in a letter 
reviewing the subjects then before Congress, that Howell 
and Ellery first commented on the measure. 2 A memorial 
from Massachusetts, protesting against the half pay of army 
officers and the prevailing high salaries, furnished the text 
of their discourse. 3 That state enumerated her grievances, 
and applied for redress, but at the same time carefully kept 
her grasp on the purse-strings. Herein, it was thought, lay 
the protection of the states. " Had the state of Massachus- 
etts granted Congress the revenue they request, what would 
have remained in their hands to give weight to their remon- 
strances against the commutation and high salaries, or 
against any other grievance?" 4 In other words, the custom 
followed by the British House of Commons of voting annual 
supply bills, was the proper mode of curbing authority. 
" The power of the purse," said the delegates, " is the touch- 
stone of freedom in all states. If the people command their 
own money they are free ; but if their sovereign commands 
it they are slaves. All other strings in government take 
their tone from the mode of raising money. An alteration, 
therefore, in the mode of raising money, is an alteration of 

1 Staples, Rhode Island in the Continental Congress, 435. 

2 Letter to Gov. Greene, Rhode Island Archives (MS.), Letters, 1783-5, 6. 

3 journals of Congress, iv, 276. 

4 Letter from delegates to Gov. Greene, Rhode Island Archives (MS.), Letters, 
1783-5, 2. 



2 i i ] A PERIOD OF DISCORD 93 

the Constitution. It is an essential and radical change. . . . 
It is altering the center of gravity. It is like transferring the 
fee simple of an estate. It is like putting your weapon of 
defense into another man's hand." ' The doctrine of implied 
powers was particularly to be reprehended. Grant the power 
of laying an impost, and admit of powers by implication, and 
liberty would take its flight. Should such pernicious doc- 
trines be recognized, the future would see " Continental taxes 
collected by continental officers, under the laws of Congress, 
and offenders against these laws . . . liable to be carried 
into any part of the United States for trial, and that before 
continental judges appointed by Congress. Such in time 
might be the bitter fruit of this evil tree — a continental im- 
post." 2 

Again, on the fifth of the following February, Howell in- 
veighs against the impost. This time it was a remonstrance 
from Connecticut on the same question of half pay, which 
called up the matter. His imagination pictured the Congress 
of the future, holding in one hand the purse, and in the other 
a sword above the heads of the trembling and impotent 
states. For " if the states give up to Congress the power of 
raising money from them, and of disposing of that money, 
their particular sovereignty will, in fact, be all absorbed in 
one mighty sovereignty, against the abuses of which they 
will retain only the power of complaining, and receiving for 
answer that they can have no remedy." The opprobrium 
cast upon the state at the present time would find its ample 
compensation in the approbation of the future. Then, said 
he, let the states " govern themselves — maintain their separ- 
ate sovereignties — and adhere strictly to the principles of 

1 Letter from delegates to Gov. Greene, Rhode Island Archives (.MS.), Letters, 
" Ibid. 3 Hid., 22. 



9 4 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION V 2 \2 

their union and alliance with each other, and in a word, do 
justice." ' 

To the influence of these leaders of opinion were added 
occasional contributions to the public press, on the question 
of the hour. As early as May, 1783, Madison wrote to Ed- 
mund Randolph of the impost: "In Rhode Island they are 
attacking it in the newspapers." 2 Yet, considering the im- 
portance of the question, and the active part taken by the 
Rhode Island delegates, the papers are strangely silent. 
Perhaps the leaders believed that their views on the whole 
question of a Continental impost had been sufficiently em- 
phasized on previous occasions. The attack of which Madi- 
son wrote was made by " Dixit Senex " in the Gazette. He 
contended that not only taxation, but every power of gov- 
ernment, should reside in the legislature. This position was 
characteristic of Rhode Island, for her assembly had always 
been and was long to continue to be the most absolute legis- 
lative body in America. Taxation, he declared to be the 
natural instrument of tyranny. Said he, " I never wish for 
the power of raising devils I have not the power of laying." 8 

" Casca," in the Gazette of October eleventh, admitted that 
the promoters of the impost were honest, but dishonesty 
might follow. After risking everything to establish " free 
republics," it seemed folly to part with everything " to es- 
tablish one great sovereignty. Difficulty in obtaining money 
is the best assurance of its wise use." * 

Another writer, more than a year later, congratulated the 
nation on the fact that there were thirteen republics instead 
of one. To him, the only logical outcome of the measure of 

1 Letter from delegates to Gov. Greene, Rhode Island Archives (MS.), Letters, 
'783-1, 22. 

2 Gilpin, Madison Papers, i, 54:". 

3 Providence Gazette, May 10, 1783. 

4 Providence Gazette, Oct. II, 1783. 



2 i 3"] A PERIOD OF DrSCORD 95 

February third, 1 78 1 , and April eighteenth, 1783, would be 
to create a mighty Continental legislature, in time to merge 
and swallow up the legislatures of the particular states." ' 

When, in reply to Rhode Island's inveighings against the 
impost, the distress of the public treasury was pleaded, the 
constant rejoinder was that the relief was to be found in the 
public lands. Among the amendments proposed by Rhode 
Island to the Articles of Confederation, was one providing 
for the cession of western lands to the general government.' 
During the year 1782, the public domain became a leading 
question in politics.' An inclination among the large states 
was manifested to accede to the demands of the smaller ones. 
Tenders of cession made by New York 3 and Virginia* came 
before Congress for debate in the spring of 1782, at the time 
when Howell made his first appearance in that body. Soon 
after the election the Rhode Island delegation was advised 
in regard to the vacant lands, that " this state conceives itself 
to be invested with a perfect and indisputable right, in com- 
mon with her sister states, to the said lands." 5 In the in- 
structions given at the time of Rhode Island's rejection of 
the impost, the delegates were again charged " to contend 
earnestly for this state's proportion of vacant or back lands." 6 

Owing to the strength of opposing factions the prospects 
of success were not flattering. Howell, as a member of the 
committee on public credit, proposed to bring up the subject 
of the back lands, for he thought they would undoubtedly 
furnish a means of restoring public credit. But, though the 
question was debated long and hotly, and on some occasions 

1 Providence Gazette, Apt. 9, 17S5. 

3 Rhode Island Colonial Records, viii, 365. 
s Journals a/ ( Oftgress, IV, 582. 

4 Journals 0/ Congress, iv, 68. 

6 Rhode Island Colonial Records, ix, 561. 

6 Acts and Resolves of the General Asoembly (MS.), Nov. 2, 1 782. 



96 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [214 

the claimants were outvoted, yet nothing definite was accom- 
plished. 1 

The possibilities of revenue from the public domain were 
no less vivid to the Rhode Island delegates when the second 
impost proposition was before them than before. This was 
the alternative suggested on all occasions, and the end per- 
sistently sought for. So long as this resource remained a 
possibility, it was thought to be folly to resort to another, 
which was uncertain and dangerous to liberty. 1 In the plan 
for the government of the western lands, of the committee to 
prepare which Howell was a member, his idea found expres- 
sion in the provision that nothing should interfere with the 
disposal of the soil by the United States. 2 By this means he 
proposed to secure a revenue which should pay the debt of 
the nation, and leave Rhode Island a free mart of commerce. 
The happy influence of the possession of a national domain 
upon the national spirit, inspires a peculiar interest in this 
earliest attitude of the states on the question. Oddly enough, 
the measure with which Rhode Island was closely in sym- 
pathy, was a potent factor in bringing about the very condi- 
tion which she, of all the states, most feared, viz., a truly 
national spirit. 

While ignoring the measure proposed by Congress, Rhode 
Island had gone on with her own methods of raising a reve- 
nue. A duty of two per cent, on the list of enumerated 
articles was imposed. 2 This duty was, after July first, to 
apply to all foreign goods which had not already paid duty 
in another state. The proceeds were specifically appropri- 
ated to the payment of the interest on the state debt. 

The legislature did not take up the proposal of Congress 
until June twenty-eighth, 1784. On that day it resolved 

1 Letter from delegates to Gov. Greene, Oct. 13, 1782. Rhode Island Archives 
{MS.), Letters, 1782-3, 23. 

2 Schedules of the General Assembly, June Session, 1783, 26. 



215] A PERIOD OF DISCORD 97 

that the basis of taxation prescribed in the Articles of Con- 
federation was preferable to that proposed by Congress. 
They showed their adherence to the old method by ordering 
a new assessment on that basis. The impost clause was de- 
bated in the lower house at the same time, and rejected by 
a majority of forty. In its place, the duty of the previous 
year was raised to two and one-half per cent. As in the 
year before, dependence was placed on direct taxes to meet 
the requisitions of the general government. 1 

By the end of 1784, there began to appear, however, a 
weakening in the ranks of the opposition. In this emer- 
gency Ellery wrote to Green, " I trust that nothing but the 
last necessity will embrace it in its present form, if at all. It 
is probable that this state [New York] will not come into it, 
and if it should not, I think we ought not to be scared into 
it by the inefficacious act of Connecticut.""' At its February 
session, the assembly was induced to pass an act which was 
a step toward the request of Congress. It was but a halting 
attempt, but was secured by the friends of the impost as an 
entering wedge. The act imposed the same specific duty, and 
on the same articles, as that proposed by Congress, and like- 
wise a five per cent, duty on all other imports. The collectors 
were appointed by and amenable to the general assembly. 
Of the proceeds, eight thousand dollars was appropriated 
annually to pay the share of the state in the foreign debt of 
the United States. The remainder was to be devoted to the 
payment of the proportion of the domestic debt held in 
Rhode Island. A poll tax of one Spanish milled dollar was 
imposed, and a like tax on every hundred acres of land, and 
on every house over two years old. This act was to take 
effect when all the other states should accept the plan of 
Congress, and should continue twenty-five years. 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), /7SJ-3, 3. July 2, 17S4. 
' Rhode Island Archives (MS.), Letters, /7SJ-J, 51. 



98 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION V 2 \6 

It was only after a struggle that the assembly was induced 
to yield so much. Even that was done only under the 
strongest pressure. The greater share of those who had 
looked with horror on the proposition for a general impost 
now felt that the door was open to evils innumerable. But 
their hearts were soon made glad by the news that New 
York had failed to pass the impost by a vote of thirteen in 
the senate, and that the popular current in that state was 
setting against the measure. 1 This postponed indefinitely 
the operation of Rhode Island's late act, leaving in effect 
only the impost of two and a half per cent. In July, 1785, 
the number of articles paying the duty was greatly in- 
creased, 2 and in October of the same year the act was again 
amended. 3 

In the meantime, Congress was staggering on beneath its 
burden of debt. Since the last of October, 1781, requisi- 
tions on the states had been made to the extent of over 
$16,670,000. To meet these, there had been paid in by the 
states only $2,419,000, of which neither North Carolina nor 
Georgia had paid one cent. For the ensuing year, it was 
estimated that there would be necessary $2,508,327 to pay 
the public service, and the interest on the public debt. Be- 
sides, there would fall due during the year a part of the 
principal of two foreign loans and many domestic obliga- 
tions.* The question of means was well nigh incapable of 
solution. The consummation of the impost plan appeared 
the only hope. An examination of the acts of the various 
states showed that New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connec- 
ticut, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Caro- 
lina had granted the impost clause in such manner that, 

1 Howell to Gov. Greene, Rhode Island Archives (MS.), Letters, 1783-5, 66. 

2 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), 1784-5, 109. 

3 Schedules of 'the General Assembly, Oct. Session, 1785,42. 
* y our nah of Congress, iv, 614. 



217] A PERI0D OF DISCORD 99 

should the other six states do likewise, that clause might be- 
come operative at once. Delaware and Pennsylvania had 
granted the impost, but had attached provisos that withheld 
its operation until the whole system should be adopted by 
all the states. Neither Maryland, Georgia, nor New York 
had passed any act whatever in conformity with the plan. 
Rhode Island's act was so different from the form desired, 
and so insufficient, that it was not considered a compliance. 
In view of this state of affairs, Congress again presented the 
plan of April, 1783, to the states, calling on them with the 
earnestness of despair to adopt it. 1 This call came like the 
last appeal of a drowning man to the Rhode Island assembly 
at its February session, 1786. Summoning all their forces, 
the friends of the measure secured the passage of an act 
granting the full measure of power over imposts which was 
desired by Congress. The act granted " power to levy and 
collect within this state, for the use of the United States, for 
the special purpose of paying off the principal and interest 
of the debt contracted during the late war with Great 
Britain, the following duties upon goods imported into this 
state from any foreign port or island or plantation whatever, 
to be collected under such regulations as the United States 
in Congress assembled shall direct."' This power was 
granted under the provisions and limitations stated in the 
recommendation of Congress. 

The impost had not absorbed the undivided attention of 
the American people during these stormy years. Our com- 
mercial relations with the rest of the world were in a condi- 
tion to demand immediate action. It is from a study of 
America's commercial relations, that Rhode Island's attitude 
upon the questions of the day is best comprehended. 
Therein may be seen why a state which had been so violently 

1 Journals of Congress, iv, 614-5. 

2 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), Feb. Session, 1786, March 3. 

I of C 



IOO RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [ 2 i8 

opposed to granting to Congress power over the revenue, 
should have come finally to grant all that was asked. 

As the negotiations for peace passed through successive 
stages, the commercial relations between Great Britain and 
America proved a bone of contention. The local policy of 
Pitt and Shelburne would not only have granted to Ameri- 
cans equal rights with other foreign nations, but would have 
allowed American ships and goods the right of entry into 
British ports on payment of the same duties that were im- 
posed on British subjects. The opposition in Parliament 
declared this to be a revolution in commercial policy, and a 
violation of the Navigation Acts. In case of its adoption, 
they prophesied the absorption of the West India trade by 
America, to the detriment of the mother country. Against 
this opposition Pitt and Shelburne were not to prevail. By 
an order in council of July second, 1783, trade between 
America and the British West Indies was restricted to 
British ships, owned and manned by British seamen. 
America was thrown into consternation. Never before had 
the American people understood what it implied commer- 
cially to be separated from England. Before the war one- 
third of British tonnage was of American build. The West 
India trade had been in the hands of merchants in the 
northern colonies, and had proved most profitable. It had 
been the hope of the commercial interests centering in New 
York, Boston, Providence, and Newport, that at the close of 
the war this profitable occupation might be resumed. With 
the proceeds of this trade flowing into their coffers, and the 
power of levying duties carefully retained by the states, an 
era of prosperity was open before them. But just as the 
danger of a Continental impost was removed for the time 
being, their dreams were dispelled by the order in council. 

Great quantities of English goods were flooding the coun- 
try, underselling and exterminating domestic manufactures. 



2I 9] A PERIOD OF DISCORD IO I 

Specie was drained out of the country, while the American 
merchant who took his goods to England to sell for specie 
was met by a heavy tariff. On the arrival of the news that 
the order had been promulgated it was appreciated that ac- 
tion was necessary. To prevent the violation of existing 
treaties, and protect the country from British commercial in- 
vasion, was the duty of Congress. As early as September, 
1783, Madison prophesied that Congress would recommend 
some defensive plan against the navigation laws of England.' 

This took form in a request made by Congress, on April 
30, 1784, for power to prohibit for fifteen years, any goods 
from being imported into or exported from any state in ves- 
sels owned or navigated by subjects of any foreign nation, 
with whom the United States had not formed treaties of 
commerce ; and further, to empower Congress, during the 
same time, to prohibit the subjects of any foreign nation, un- 
less authorized by treaty, from importing any goods not the 
produce of their own country. 2 All the provisions of this act 
had to receive the consent of nine states. 

The commercial party, strong in the North, now hoped to 
see their interests established on a firm basis ; but the coun- 
try at large was not yet ready for concerted action. It was 
early prophesied that Rhode Island would not this time offer 
any serious resistance. 3 As for nine months nothing was 
accomplished toward alleviating the growing evil, a move- 
ment was set on foot to change some features of the recom- 
mendation, to make it more acceptable to the states. It was 
now proposed to vest Congress with power to regulate for- 
eign and coast-wise trade, and to regulate the duties on for- 
eign importations. It was provided that all ordinances on 
the subject should have the consent of nine states in Con- 

1 Gilpin, Madison Papers^ 1, 573. 
' l Journals oft 'ottgrrss, iv, 392. 
Ciilpin, Madison Papers, 1, 573. 



IQ 2 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [220 

gress, and of the legislatures of the same number ; that the 
grant should be for a limited time, and that all duties should 
be collected under the authority and for the use of the state 
in which they should be paid. 1 This alternative act seemed 
especially calculated to conciliate Rhode Island. The assent 
of nine states insured deliberation. Rhode Island had, in 
1 78 1, feared that if a duty were collected in her ports, Con- 
necticut would retaliate. Now that would be forbidden. 
The new plan was to give Congress the right to fix the duty, 
but the incongruity of a duty collected in the state by an 
outside authority was removed. Howell, losing no time in 
reporting this plan to his governor, wrote of it : "I trust in 
the wisdom of the public councils to devise a system of com- 
mercial regulations which will answer every reasonable 
object of the mercantile part of the community, without en- 
dangering the liberties of this country. But if I am called 
upon either to part with my freedom or foreign commerce, I 
shall want no time to deliberate." " During all this time the 
trade laws of Britain were bearing more and more heavily on 
the people of America, fostering a feeling that power must be 
given to Congress to enact retaliatory measures. The mer- 
cantile class in the seaboard towns, believing at first that their 
interest lay in retaining for the state its power to maintain 
free trade or to lay its own duties, were now brought by the 
hardships of the British trade laws to realize that their safety 
lay in maintaining the public credit, and presenting a united 
front to British aggression. Reluctantly they acknowledged 
that the desired end must be sought through the proposi- 
tions of April 18, 1783, and April 30, 1784. Through the 
efforts of the commercial element, the opposition of the 
other classes to those measures began to weaken. The per- 

1 Journals of Congress, iv, 392. 

2 Rhode Island Archives (AfS\), Letters, 1783-j, 53. 



22 I ] A PERIOD OF DISCORD lo $ 

sistency of this opposition is revealed by the piecemeal 
manner in which the grants were secured. 

The friends of the measures of Congress had first suc- 
ceeded in securing the inefficient grant of the impost at the 
February session, 1785. At the same session Congress was 
given power to " regulate, restrain, or prohibit the importa- 
tion of all foreign goods in any ships or vessels other than 
those owned by the citizens of the United States or any of 
them, and navigated by seamen, citizens of the United 
States."' This grant, which was restricted to twenty- five 
years, was full enough in regard to imposts, but did not 
touch upon exports. Though this was but a small result, 
other states did not even do as much as this. 

The next step was taken when it was found that her grant 
would not become operative in the near future. Several of 
the commercial states had, for self-preservation, passed laws 
in restraint of British trade. The Rhode Island assembly, 
following their example, in May, 1785, imposed an addi- 
tional duty of seven and a half per cent, on goods imported 
in British ships." An act of this nature, involving no conces- 
sion to Congress, met with no opposition, and passed by 
acclamation. 

The election of members of the assembly to sit at the Oc- 
tober session, resulted in a house of deputies of sixty-one 
members, of whom twenty had not sat in the last assembly. 
Whereas the commercial party had, at the last session, been 
able to grant to Congress power over imports in foreign ves- 
sels, they were now able to empower the delegates to pro- 
hibit the importation of foreign goods in vessels owned by 
citizens of the United States. Congress was at the same 
time to regulate trade between the different states. 3 Still the 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), /ySj-j, 69. 

' Ibid., 91 ; Providence Gazette, May 2, 1 785. 

3 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), ijSj-j;, 128. 



I04 RHODE ISLAND AXD THE UNION [ 2 22 

request of Congress was not fully granted. Even in this 
small concession may be seen a compromise. Nothing was 
yet said concerning exports. The fear that the neighboring 
states would impose restrictions on trade must be allayed. 
To effect this, the clause concerning inter-state trade was in- 
serted in the grant of power over American shipping, and the 
whole passed together. As a measure of urgency, while the 
Congressional grant was inoperative, the legislature laid a 
prohibition on the exportation of American goods in British 
ships, and all entries of British ships from ports of that na- 
tion were forbidden under pain of forfeiture of ship and 
cargo. 1 Howell himself could now allow that power to reg- 
ulate trade might be granted to Congress with safety, but he 
insisted that a line should be sharply drawn between this 
power and that of raising a revenue by means of duties. The 
latter must be tenaciously retained by the states. 2 Encour- 
aged by their success in passing the impost act, and impelled 
by an urgent appeal from Congress, the commercial party in 
the assembly advanced to the final grant. The appeal from 
Congress was the result of an investigation of the laws passed 
by the states in conformity with the recommendation of 
April 30, 1784. The committee appointed for the purpose 
found that Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Vir- 
ginia had passed acts in conformity with the recommendation 
of Congress, but had made them inoperative until all the 
states had consented. Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Mary- 
land had passed laws that fixed the date of taking effect dif- 
ferently, while New Hampshire's grant was limited to fifteen 
years. Rhode Island and North Carolina had given power 
over imports only. Delaware, South Carolina, and Georgia 
had done nothing. It was voted that the recommendation 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly {MS.), 1784-J, 145; Providence 
Gazette, Nov. 12, 1785. 

2 Letter to Gov. Greene, Rhode Island Archives {MS.), Letters, 1783-3, 94. 



223] A PERIOD OF DISCORD IO5 

be again presented to the three latter states, and that New 
Hampshire, North Carolina, and Rhode Island be asked to 
reconsider their acts. 1 

The scale was turned by this appeal, and the legislature, 
on March thirteenth, granted to Congress full power over 
imports and exports, but attached the condition that it 
should not take effect until Congress was given power over 
inter-state trade.' This act, though saddled with a condition, 
was accepted by Congress as fulfilling its demands. 3 

As it was the fear of retaliation on the part of Connecticut 
that had been a potent factor in the opposition to the im- 
posts, it was a sense of close relationship with that state, 
which now induced a suspension of the embargo act of Octo- 
ber, 1785, until a similar act had been passed by Connecticut. 
Thereupon the law was to become operative by proclama- 
tion of the governor.' 

The five years which had passed since the first proposal 
of an additional grant of power to Congress had witnessed a 
rude awakening of the people of Rhode Island. They had 
found that to stand alone fighting the battles of commerce 
would be quite another thing from resting beneath the 
shelter of the British crown. It was a sacrifice of their ideas 
of local independence and constitutional liberty, to yield those 
powers which, under the influence of the commercial towns, 
the state had been led to confer upon Congress. The state 
of Rhode Island had yet to learn that among states, as 
among men, " none of us liveth to himself." She must 
yet receive her purification by fire, before entering into 

1 Journals of Congress, iv, 622. 

'' Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), 1786-7, 15. 

s Journals of Congress, iv, 715. 

* Schedules of the General Assembly, Feb. Session, 17S6, 37; Providence Gazette, 
March 1 i, 1786. 



io 6 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [224 

the blessings of the Federal Union. A popular frenzy was 
destined to engulf her mercantile power, which had brought 
her into line on the questions of impost and commercial 
regulations. 



CHAPTER IV 



THE PAPER MONEY ERA 



Great popular upheavals in any community do not arise 
upon the impulse of the moment, nor are they the result of 
an inherent tendency to anarchy. Behind every such ex- 
pression of the popular will, examination will reveal a train 
of events and antecedent conditions silently at work, culmi- 
nating in a sudden and violent outbreak. Such was the 
case on the occasion of the political revolution which took 
place in Rhode Island in 1786. It has been seen how a 
steadily increasing sentiment among the mercantile interests 
had by successive grants, bestowed on Congress the addi- 
tional powers sought by that body. This was done in 
opposition to a large class in the rural towns, who were to 
lead in the approaching convulsion. It needed only the 
aggravation of the economic conditions which had for a 
decade prevailed in America, to precipitate a crisis. 

The antecedent conditions in America, so far as they con- 
cern Rhode Island, must be reviewed. The exertions of the 
infant nation were enormous. The country emerged from the 
war with industries paralyzed and a debt with which she was 
incompetent to grapple. Rhode Island had early felt the 
rigors of war, for during the first week of December, 1776, a 
British fleet had appeared off Newport, and proceeded to 
garrison the town with eight thousand troops. From these 
unwelcome visitors she was not free until October, 1779. 
The approach of the British caused a general emigration of 
the inhabitants, not only of Newport, but of many of the 
225] 107 



108 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION I 226 

coast towns. For three years the shores of Narragansett Bay 
were kept in a state of defense. By the British occupation 
of the island, their raids on the neighboring mainland, and 
the maintenance of the patriot troops, the fairest portions of 
the state were laid waste or drained to the last degree in 
providing supplies. By the British occupation, the metropo- 
lis of the state, where centered wealth and commerce, was 
lost. The remaining commercial towns, though not actually 
occupied by the enemy, were blockaded. The portion of 
the commonwealth remaining free from British domination 
was the interior country towns which were wholly unable to 
bear the burdens of a commonwealth. But in any case the 
burden of expense would have been heavy. 

Repeated disaster had not shaken the faith of the people 
in paper money. The first resort of Congress to obtain 
money was through an emission of paper. 1 On receipt of 
the news of this issue, the general assembly of Rhode Island 
promptly made the bills a legal tender at the rate of six 
shillings to the dollar. 2 The expenses of the state, for the 
years preceding the Revolution, had not greatly exceeded 
two thousand pounds per year. During the years 1775 and 
1776, the expenses of war and the unwillingness of the 
people to submit to direct taxation led to the issue of one 
hundred and fifty thousand pounds in paper. 1 The issues of 
the states and of Congress creating an over-supply of money 
brought on depreciation. 

A New England convention held at Providence to seek a 
means of sustaining prices recommended that the states 
cease to issue paper and resort to taxation. This was reiter- 
ated by a convention at Springfield, in July, 1777. 4 Con- 

1 Journals of Congress, i, 87. 

* Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (AIS.), /yyj, Aug. 26. 
3 Rhode Island Historical Tracts, viii, 139. 

* Arnold, Hist, of Rhode Island, ii, 404. 



227] TIlE PAPEK M 0NE * ' ERA 1 09 

gress, in the call for supplies of November twenty-second, 
1777, reached the same conclusion; wherefore it was recom- 
mended that the states cease to issue bills of credit ; that 
they take up all their issues except those of fractional cur- 
rency, and that in the future all money be raised by tax- 
ation. 1 Before this recommendation had been received, 
Rhode Island voted to cease issuing bills, borrowing on six 
per cent, notes to meet current expenses. 2 

Realizing the evil consequences arising from so much 
paper in circulation, Congress called on the states to raise 
as much money by taxation as they might think proper, for 
the use of Congress:' This was met in the state by a tax of 
sixteen thousand pounds. The natural aversion to tax- 
ation, heightened by the distressed condition of the coast 
towns, led Providence to secure the passage of the act, by 
which she assumed an increase of one hundred thousand 
pounds in her valuation.* 

The inhabitants of the southern towns were constantly 
taking refuge from the British marauders in the more 
northern towns. By the loss of their lands and the sale of 
their effects at a sacrifice, they were thrown almost upon 
charity. It was estimated that there were two hundred and 
fifty refugees in Providence without the means of support 
during the winter of 1777-8. Many of the coast towns 
were almost deserted. 5 In September, 1777, the inhabitants 
of Rhode Island, Conanicut, and Block Island were exempted 
from taxes on all personal property except cattle. 6 The tax 
of sixteen thousand pounds was followed by others in 

1 Journals of Congress, ii, 346. 

J Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (Jl/S.), jjj6,Pt. ii, Dec. 31. 

5 Journals of Congress, ii, 1 2. 

' Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (A/S.), 1777, Pt. i, Mar. 23. 

6 Rhode Island Colonial Records, viii, 151. 

* Schedules of the General Assembly, Sept. Session, 1777, 5. 



HO RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION j 228 

August' and December, 2 bringing the taxes of the year up 
to ninety-six thousand pounds. It must be borne in mind, 
however, that at this time, as in following years, taxes laid 
and taxes collected were very different things. 

The devices of Congress for obtaining money through 
loan offices and lotteries having been unproductive, and the 
depreciation of bills of credit having become alarming, re- 
course was had, on November twenty-second, 1777, to requi- 
sitions on the states for specific sums. 3 The first three 
requisitions were made in paper and were as follows: 

Date. Paper Value. Specie Value. 

1777, Nov. 22 $100,000 $36,363.64* 

1 779, Jan. 2-5 300,000 37,688.44 s 

1779, May 21 750,000 64,878.45 s 



$1,150,000 $ 1 38,930.53 

On October ninth, 1779, Congress made a requisition for 
$15,000,000 per month, to be paid in paper, 7 to begin Feb- 
ruary first, 1780, and to be continued until October first 
of the same year. This was later extended to April first, 
1 78 1. 8 The quota of Rhode Island for each month was 
$200,000. A requisition for $6,000,000 per year, for eigh- 
teen years, seems never to have received attention from any- 
one after its passage, and is therefore excluded. 9 To meet 
these requisitions, the reports to Congress show that Rhode 
Island actually paid in paper as follows: 10 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.~), 1777, Pt. ii, Aug. 23. 

2 Ibid., Dec. 6. 3 Journals of Congress, ii, 345. 
4 Ibid., ii, 345. 5 Ibid., iii, 1 76. 

6 Ibid., iii, 284. 7 Ibid., iii, 373, 376. 

8 Ibid., hi, 442. • Ibid., iii, 1 74. 

10 American State Papers, Finance, i, 60. 



229] 



THE PAPER MONEY ERA \ \ \ 

Date of Warrant 

or Receipt. Paper Value. Specie Value. 

1778, June 26 $50,000 $11,763.29 

1779, July 23 I95'° l8 12,599.35 

" Nov. 12 300,000 12,330.45 

" Dec. 14 100,000 3,658.98 

1 780, Jan. 1 75,000 2,407.70 

" Jan. 20 175,000 5« 6l 7-97 

" Feb. 28 80,000 2,000,00 

" April 11 204,000 5,100.00 

" April 14 100,000 2,500.00 

" June 9 "4,732 2,868.30 

1782, Feb. 23 8,238 205.95 



$1,402,788 $61,051.99 

In 1787, when the paper was practically of no value, 
Rhode Island turned in $2,593,353.30 on the requisition of 
March 18, 1780.' 

The embargo which had been laid at the suggestion of 
Congress on the export of all provisions from the states, was 
inflicting great hardship on the people of Rhode Island." So 
heavily did the Connecticut embargo rest on the people that 
a request was sent to the governor of that state, asking that 
it be suspended in favor of Rhode Island." The scarcity of 
provisions, he explained, was due to the expedition to Rhode 
Island, which had prevented the people from sowing grain, 
as well as to the drought of the summer and the absence of 
the men at harvest time. One-fourth of the land suited to 
agriculture was either occupied or controlled by the enemy, 
from whom the inhabitants were refugees without the means 
of livelihood. Receiving no response, the destitute situation 

1 American State Papers, Finance, i, 58; Specie values determined from tables 
of depreciation in American State Papers, Finance, v, 722 et seq. 

2 Journals of Congress, ii, 581; Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly 
{MS.), 777.?, June 30. 

s Rhode Island Colonial Records, viii, 499. 



II2 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [230 

of the state led again in January, 1779, to an appeal for aid. 1 
The delegates in Congress were instructed to obtain a sus- 
pension of the embargo in New York and Connecticut, in 
favor of Rhode Island. Governor Greene, in his letter, said 
that the number of refugees was constantly increasing; that 
the state had never been able to produce grain sufficient for 
her own use, and that now the state was deprived of all imports 
except small amounts obtained from Massachusetts. " If 
some relief is not speedily granted," said he, " many of the 
poorer sort of inhabitants, especially those that have come 
off from Rhode Island, must inevitably perish of want." 2 To 
Governor Clinton, on the same day, he wrote : " There are 
several thousand of the inhabitants of Rhode Island come 
off, that must be supported among us. Your excellency 
will be able to judge, from what your own inhabitants suffer, 
how hard the lot of these poor people must be, when I in- 
form you that corn nor flour cannot be purchased for money 
at any price whatever." 3 

To the assembly of Connecticut he writes that storms and 
force of military duty had ruined the crops of the last sum- 
mer so that the product was even less than usual. "The 
most obdurate heart would relent to see old age and child- 
hood, from comfortable circumstances, reduced to the neces- 
sity of begging for a morsel of bread." 4 A committee was 
appointed to wait on the Connecticut assembly to impress 
the necessity of the case. 

Nor were these efforts unsuccessful. The assembly of 
Connecticut allowed seven thousand bushels of grain to be 
exported to Rhode Island, and in compliance with a recom- 
mendation of that body, contributions were taken up to the 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (AIS.), 1779, Jan. 3; Rhode 
Island Archives {MS.), Letters, 7779, Jan. 7. 

3 Staples, Rhode Island in the Continental Congress, 209. 

3 Rhode Island Colonial Records, viii, 499. * Ibid., viii, 500. 



231] THE PAPER MONE Y ERA r j 3 

amount of five hundred bushels of grain and four thousand 
three hundred pounds in money. Moreover Congress, on 
the second of March, relieved the state of fifty thousand dol- 
lars of her quota, that sum being generously assumed by 
South Carolina. 1 In New York the embargo was in like 
manner suspended. 

The issue of state paper having been abandoned, and 
taxes not yielding the necessary funds, recourse was had to 
borrowing on treasury notes bearing interest. The interest 
on these of the face value of one hundred and sixty thousand 
pounds was added to the burden of the state. Every other 
means was taken by Congress to avoid a further emission 
of paper. A loan of $20,000,000 through the loan offices 
was authorized." The loans came in so slowly that the 
assembly recommended that subscription lists be opened in 
every town." As in the other colonies at the opening of 
hostilities, the Tories had sought refuge with the British. 
Their estates, which had been taken possession of by the 
state, were, by act of the assembly, confiscated to the public 
use. 4 

During the year 1780, the "Forty for One Act" practi- 
cally repudiated thirty-nine fortieths of the bills of credit. 5 
They were then made receivable only for a special tax laid 
for the purpose of calling in the notes. From that date the 
requisitions of Congress were made in specie. Man)- of the 
states took measures to relieve the soldiers who had received 
paper in payment for service, and who were placed in an 
especially unfortunate position by the act. In Rhode Island 
a tax of sixteen thousand pounds was laid, of which six 
thousand pounds was devoted to the payment of one fourth 

1 Journals of Congress, iii, 216. '" Ibid., hi, 306, 316. 

s Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), ifJQ, Aug. 21. 
' Rhode Island Colonial Records, viii, 609. 
8 Journals of Congress, iii, 442. 



H4 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [232 

of the depreciation of the pay of the Rhode Island soldiers. 1 
The remaining three-fourths was to be paid out of the pro- 
ceeds of the confiscated estates of the loyalists. 

With the appointment of Morris as Superintendent of 
Finance something like order was brought into the adminis- 
tration of the treasury. Specie requisitions were made by 
Congress, but the waning influence of that body is evident 
in the laxity of the states in complying with its demands. A 
treasury statement shows that of the requisitions made 
from October 31, 1 78 1 , to August 20, 1788, against 
$5,900,349.20 paid by all the states, there remained unpaid 
$9,463,660.70. Of these sums Rhode Island had paid $87,- 
950.83, against $268,088.14 yet unpaid. 2 

Upon the call of October 3, 1781/ for $216,684 from 
Rhode Island, the delegates were instructed to obtain relief 
for the state.* Accordingly, following the request of the 
delegates, Morris wrote that a commissioner would be ap- 
pointed to direct the expenditure of Rhode Island's contri- 
bution within the state, so that so much specie might not be 
drawn out of her boundaries. 5 By these means the state was 
enabled to meet her obligations in such a way that Morris, 
in a letter to Edmund Randolph, in June, 1782, said that 
New Jersey and Rhode Island were the only states which 
had made payments on the requisitions due that spring. 6 

To show the relative contributions of the States from 1781 
to August, 1783, in proportion to assessments, Morris trans- 
mitted to the president of Congress the following statement: 7 

1 Schedules 0/ the General Assembly, Nov. Session, 1780, 30. 

2 American State Papers, Finance, i, 56-7. 

3 Journals of Congress, "iii, 683. 

4 Rhode Island Colonial Records, ix, 502. 

5 Staples, Rhode Island in the Continental Congress, 364, 

6 Gilpin, Madison Papers, i, 142. 

7 Sparks, Diplomatic Correspondence, xii, 395. 



233I THE PAPER MONEY ERA IIJ 

South Carolina All. 

Rhode Island Nearly \. 

Pennsylvania Above \. 

Connecticut \. 

New Jersey \. 

M assachusetts \. 

Virginia J. 

New York ^. 

Maryland ,' g . 

New Hampshire r £ T . 

North Carolina Nothing. 

Delaware Nothing. 

Georgia Nothing. 

The British evacuated Newport on the twenty-fifth of Octo- 
ber, 1779, leaving the town prostrate. A report to the legis- 
lature, in June, 1782, estimated the damage done by the 
British at nearly twenty-five thousand pounds. The same 
report states that five hundred houses had been destroyed, 1 
the forests which had abounded on the island cut down, and 
farms and fields of the state's most prosperous region laid 
waste. Probably no less than two thousand persons fled 
from their homes on the shores of Narragansett Bay. 

But among the losses to the state, none could compare in 
after effects with the loss of Newport's Hebrew population. 
The enterprise which had made that town the commercial 
metropolis of the north was due chiefly to the Jews. Twenty 
square-rigged vessels, besides many smaller ones, were kept 
in commission by one house. Of this wealthy class few re- 
turned at the close of the war. Their name was only to be 
preserved by tradition and by the monuments of their bene- 
volence in the town, from whose docks trade had forever de- 
parted.' 

Allusion has already been made to the new race of mer- 
chants, the foundation of whose prosperity was laid during 

1 Arnold, Hist, of Rhode Island, ii, 447. 
1 Providence Gazet/e,Sept.6, 1782. 



i r 6 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [234 

the war, and who were now rising to wealth at the expense 
of the producing class. In the agricultural districts great 
distress prevailed. For several years taxes had been heavy. 
•Cheap foreign goods were tempting the purses of the com- 
mon people. Debts increased on all sides and lawyers 
throve. Paper money had not only depreciated in the hands 
of the people, but, in October, 1781, was declared no longer 
legal tender in payments of debts to the state, or of taxes. 1 
At the opening of the war the statute of limitations had been 
suspended/ but on the return of peace, creditors began to 
make new and strenuous demands. At the May session, 
1784, the statute was reenacted, bringing hardship to the 
debtor class. 1 Under the existing law, should the town treas- 
urer fail to pay the town's quota of taxes to the state, he was 
liable to imprisonment. He must look for relief to the col- 
lector of taxes. The imprisonment of the treasurer of South 
Kingstown, and the subsequent levy by the collector on the 
stock owned in the town, led to a petition from the people 
declaring that " one universal scene of distress is spread 
throughout the said town." 4 From Scituate came another 
petition to the same effect. The treasurers of other towns 
met with the same fate, until a general act of the assembly 
gave relief for a time while renewed efforts were making. 5 

In southern Massachusetts there was formed, in the 
winter of 1882-3, a combination to resist the collection of 
taxes. At Killingly, just across the Connecticut line, a 
meeting was held to extend the movement to that state. 
The disaffection was spreading into Rhode Island, but by the 
prompt action of Deputy Governor Bowen, seconded by the 

1 Schedules of the General Assembly, October Session, 1781, 20. 

* Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (AIS.), 1774-5, Nov. 6, 1775. 

* Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (AIS.), 17S5, May 2. 
4 Rhode Island Colonial Record?, ix, 513. 

6 Schedules of the General Assembly, Oct. Session, 1782, 14. 



235] THE PAPER MONEY ERA \\>] 

assembly, the offenders were brought to justice.' About the 
same time, certain inhabitants of the border towns of Massa- 
chusetts came across into Rhode Island and rescued prison- 
ers who were on trial for attempting to seize cattle held for 
taxes. The wave of open resistance was first seen in Mas- 
sachusetts in 1784, when the towns of Medvvay and Wren- 
tham issued a call for a convention to secure redress for the 
commutation of officers' half-pay, and the tariff. A conven- 
tion at Hartford condemned the senate and courts, and 
denounced Continental taxes. In the county of Hampshire, 
a mob seized the court house, preventing the sitting of the 
courts. 2 In May, 1783, a mob prevented the sitting of the 
courts at Springfield. Conventions followed in quick suc- 
cession. Attempts to alleviate the distress by passing 
tender laws, whereby debtors might pay their debts in 
cattle and produce, only postponed the difficulty. In this 
condition of growing discontent and confusion the state 
continued until Shay's Rebellion broke out in August, 1786. 
A convention which met at Leicester, composed of delegates 
from thirty-seven towns, formulated a statement of the 
causes of the present troubles, alleging them to be : the 
want of a circulating medium; abuse in the practice of law, 
and the exorbitance of legal fees ; the existence of the 
Court of Common Pleas in its present form ; the appropri- 
ation of the revenue arising from import duties to the pay- 
ment of interest on the state debt; the number of high 
salaries paid in the state; and the payment of money to 
Congress while the public accounts remained unsettled. To 
promote these sentiments, disturbances tcok place in the 
western and southern counties of Massachusetts, culminating 
in the organization of Shay's force. The vi n of 

neral Assembly, I i, 5. 



H8 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [236 

the authorities effectually discouraged any further resort to 
arms. 

In New Hampshire the popular malady took the form of 
a demand for paper money, and a petition to that effect was 
presented to the legislature. Measures taken by the state to 
relieve those who were her own creditors did not satisfy the 
demands. Demagogues incited the people to assert their 
rights. Following these demands, the legislature made a 
tender of real or personal property an exemption from im- 
prisonment for debt. Following the example of Massachu- 
setts, the legislature at last passed a tender law. A plan for 
an emission of paper, when submitted to the people, was 
rejected, and the commotion subsided after a mob had been 
dispersed from the neighborhood of the legislature at 
Exeter. 

The general discontent and anarchic tendencies, so power- 
ful in other parts of New England, were reinforced in Rhode 
Island by local conditions. Her state rights advocates, the 
country party, hampered by debts, watched with envy the 
rise of a prosperous commercial class, the very cause of 
whose prosperity seemed the cause of their own misery. 
They saw this power wax in strength in the assembly, grant- 
ing in spite of opposition the requests of Congress. Im- 
pelled by their mistaken notions of self-interest, they at 
length rose against their opponents and inaugurated an era 
as disgraceful as it was dishonest. 

Beginning in meetings in the towns and in instructions 
and petitions, the movement gained such power as to 
make it possible to seize the government by constitutional 
means, whereas in Massachusetts the lack of a majority on 
the part of the opposition drove them to arms. The 
colonial days had witnessed many issues of paper in Rhode 
Island. The excessive issues of Continental money, and the 
consequent depreciation, led a convention assembled at 



237] THE PAPER MONEY ERA ng 

Providence to recommend that the states issue no more 
paper. 1 Accordingly the issues ceased and recourse was 
had to borrowing on treasury notes. On these notes $94,- 
500 was borrowed prior to 1780, when the issue of paper 
was resumed. The sentiments of the better class in the 
state prevented further issues until 1786. Their views were 
expressed by Governor Cooke in a letter to the delegates in 
Congress on June twenty-second, 1777. He confessed that 
the support of the state soldiers had already so exhausted 
the treasury that, unless relief was granted by Congress, the 
state must again resort to paper. "You are fully sensible," 
said he, " of the almost irreparable mischiefs that have been 
already occasioned by such large emissions of bills, and of 
the fatal consequences that will attend further emissions." 2 

William Ellery wrote, in May, 1779, in explanation of the 
large requisitions made by Congress: "The more that is 
collected by taxation, the less it will be necessary to loan in 
order to put a stop to further emissions, which is the wish of 
all. A stoppage of the press once effected, our liberties are 
effected, and an end is put to the war. Our enemy's whole 
dependence now rests upon our being crushed with whole 
reams of depreciated paper money.' To base the credit of 
the government on a more substantial foundation, the dele- 
gates were instructed, in October, 1782, "to press the re- 
demption of the outstanding Continental bills of credit." 4 

The rejection of a petition to the assembly, signed by 
many citizens of the state, for an emission of paper, was the 
sign for opening a campaign against the party in power.* 
The deputies chosen to the assembly in October, 1785, 

' Rhode Island Colonial Records, viii, 75-7. 

* Acts and Resolves 0/ the General .Assembly {MS.), 1777, Pt. it, June 22. 
3 Staples, Rhode island in the Continental Congress, 235. 

* Rhode Island Colonial Records, ix, 612. 
6 Arnold, Hist, of Rhode Island, ii, 51 1. 



!20 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [238 

though largely in sympathy with the commercial policy, 
numbered in their ranks several of the radical party. To the 
February session came several bearing instructions on the 
subject of the popular discontent. Foster, Gloucester, Smith- 
field, Coventry, Middletown, and Tiverton favored an emis- 
sion of paper. 1 Gloucester suggested, as a plan for the more 
easy payment of debts, that there should be a light tax to 
pay a part of the foreign debt annually; there should be a 
duty laid by the states to pay interest on loans ; the vacant 
lands should be sold to pay the national debt, reserving 
grants for soldiers ; and an excise similar to that in force in 
Massachusetts should be laid.* 

The Smithfield instructions enumerated the grievances of 
the people at length. They were alleged to be : that the 
payment of interest on loan office certificates made the rate 
of interest too high ; the outstanding treasury notes yielded 
too much revenue to the holders ; on account of the scarcity 
of money, all public securities yielded too much ; the scar- 
city of money made it impossible to pay taxes ; the impost 
and excise, as the easiest way of raising a tax, should be 
increased, and that real and personal property should be 
made a tender in payment of debts/ 1 Richmond and 
Charleston voted against paper, the latter by a vote of 
thirty-nine to seven. 4 Cumberland complained that from 
the scarcity of money, many debts had been contracted, 
and at the same time the ability to pay had been lessened. 
Suits at law were increasing, debtors were thrown into 
prison and their goods sold. Though many objections were 
evident, yet the freemen considered that an issue of paper 
was necessary. 

These expressions roused the fears of the people of both 

' Papers relating to the Adoption of the Constitution, 59, 47, 50, 63, 60, 58. 
- Ibid., 47. " Ibid., 50. 

* Ibid., 53, 59. ■"' Ibid., 42. 



239] Till: TAPER MONEY ERA I2 i 

Providence and Newport, to the point of remonstrance. The 
debt of the United States to the state, urged the Providence 
remonstrants, would relieve Rhode Island of all except the 
regular governmental expenses. These could be met by 
taxation. Should an emission take place, the result would 
be to drain away gold and silver, and divert trade to other 
channels. 1 In the memorial from Newport, one hundred and 
fifty signers declare that there is no scarcity of money. If 
any need to mortgage their farms, it can be done with an 
issue of paper. The depreciation which would surely follow 
an issue would destroy trade and credit. 2 The more thought- 
ful everywhere saw plainly the ruin that would ensue to 
those commercial towns whose supplies and goods for ex- 
port were drawn from the neighboring states. 

In the midst of these demands for paper all eyes were fixed 
on the assembly, as it came together at its March session. 
When a vote was reached on a motion to issue, it was de- 
feated by a vote of forty-three to eighteen. It is an inter- 
esting coincidence that the number voting for paper on this 
occasion was the same as that of the opponents to the im- 
post which was passed at the same session. 1 

In accordance with the suggestion of Providence, an act 
was passed making real, and certain articles of personal 
property, at an appraised value, a tender for debt on execu- 
tion. This act, the preamble recites, was passed because of 
the scarcity of a circulating medium, and the frequency of 
forced sales at a serious loss. The act provides not only for 
a tender of property, but that, should a creditor refuse the 
tender, upon the payment of all interest on the judgment to 
date, the debt would be discharged and the judgment remain 
simply a debt <>n interest. In case a debtor possessing real 

' Providence Gazette, Mar. .;, 1786. 

V.vV, iii, 1 10. 
I '., iii, 1 10; t '11:: 



l2 2 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [240 

estate refuse, after three months, to give satisfaction, the cred- 
itor might, on application to the court, have satisfaction out 
of the estate. 1 

This did not produce the desired result. The clamors 
grew. The instructions given by Smithfield to her deputies 
on April nineteenth, exhibit the prejudices of the country- 
districts against the creditor class.'- They complain of many 
and unjust taxes laid, especially to pay interest on loan office 
certificates, which had become so depreciated that often the 
interest in silver was of greater value than the face of the 
bill. Moreover the assembly had granted the five per cent, 
impost. If the assembly wanted an impost they should have 
insisted on having it collected by state officers, and paid into 
the state treasury. For these reasons the town directed its 
deputies to strive: (1.) To stop the payment of interest or 
principal of the loan office certificates until their just value 
should be determined ; (2.) To secure a repeal of the grant to 
Congress of power to lay an import duty, and to give the 
assembly control over revenue officers; (3.) To see that the 
accounts of the state with the United States be ascertained, 
and that in the meantime no money be paid to Congress ; 
(4.) To move for a more equitable representation in the as- 
sembly. 

The first charge originated from the most apparent of the 
evils arising out of the financial system of the war. The third, 
likewise, had its origin in the financial chaos of the Revolu- 
tion, coupled with the feeling that Rhode Island was a cred- 
itor state. The second point in the instructions was the final 
protest of the minority who had so long prevented the grant- 
ing of the impost. The apportionment of members of the as- 
sembly as provided in the charter had never been changed. 
Newport had six, Providence, Portsmouth, and Warwick four 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), 1786-7, Mar. 16, 1786. 

2 Papers relating to the Adoption of the Constitution, 54. 



24 1 ] THE PAPER MONEY ERA l2 T ) 

each, and all other towns two each. It had long been felt 
that this was unjust, and movements had been set on foot for 
a reform, but to no purpose. The feeling still existed as an 
undercurrent helping to swell the tide of discontent. 1 

The third Wednesday in April saw the opposition in full 
force at the polls. The result was a complete overthrow of 
the party in power. The new assembly which came together 
at the general election in May contained seventy members, 
of whose names forty-five do not appear on the roll of the 
March session. Of the assistants, five of the ten were new. 
Neither the governor nor the deputy governor were re-elected. 
The towns which returned substantially the same deputies as 
to the previous assembly were Newport, Providence, Bristol, 
Westerly, Warren, Hopkinton, North Providence, Cumber- 
land, Richmond, Foster, Gloucester, and New Shoreham. 
These towns, it is probable, were of two classes, those which 
retained their old deputies of the commercial party, and 
those other towns which had at the former election chosen 
representatives of the opposition. The remaining towns may 
fairly be taken to represent the extent of the change in opin- 
ion during the winter of 1786. 

The assembly at once entered on the work for which it had 
been chosen. On Friday, the fifth of May, a deputy from 
Warwick moved that an issue of paper be authorized, basing 
his motion on the facts, that there was little money in the 
country ; that the lands and stock of the farmers was being 
seized and sold at forced sale at a great loss ; that silver 
could not be hired on the best security, and that distress was 
everywhere." The result of the motion was an act for emit- 
ting one hundred thousand pounds in paper. The act re- 
lates that, " Whereas, From a variety of causes, political and 
mercantile, the currency of this state, now in circulation has 

1 Foster Papers (MS.), ii, II. 

nited States Chronicle, May II, 1786. 



I2 4 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [242 

become altogether insufficient in point of quantity, for the 
purposes of trade and commerce, and for paying the just 
debts of the inhabitants thereof, to establish a circulating 
medium, upon the firmest and most equitable principles that 
may be, and for facilitating that change of property so essen- 
tial to a commercial state, and a people circumstanced as are 
the inhabitants of this state, Be it enacted," etc. Then fol- 
lows the act emitting the paper, based on the security of clear 
landed property of twice the value of the emission. Each 
freeholder was to receive an equal share of the paper, which 
was to be repaid into the treasury in seven equal annual pay- 
ments, the first to be made at the end of seven years. Dur- 
ing the first seven years the holder was to pay interest at the 
rate of four per cent. 1 This act created, in short, a loan of 
one hundred thousand pounds to the people, in paper at four 
per cent, for which the state took as security mortgages on 
lands. The fearful consequences which might follow the 
passage of such an act, which in the confident language of 
its authors, would "have the greatest tendency of anything 
within the wisdom of this legislature to quiet the minds and 
alleviate the distressed situation and circumstances of the 
good people of this state,"'" were set forth in a protest 
against it from the deputies of Providence. 1 In view of the 
proposed issue of one hundred and sixty thousand pounds, 
they objected to the excessive amount, declaring that to 
make it a legal tender in satisfaction of past contracts would 
be an injustice, and a violation of the rights of mankind, and 
that it would not only not be received by the United States 
in payment of taxes, but work to defraud creditors outside 
the state, where the paper would be worthless. Industry, 
commerce, and public credit would be destroyed, and the 
state would be unable to pay for those necessaries of life 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly {MS.), iy86-j, May 3, 1786. 
■ /Ha., May 3, 1786. s Ibid., June 26, 1786. 



243] THE PAPER MONEY ERA I2 5 

which she must purchase outside her boundaries. Instead 
of being intended to relieve distress, they boldly declared it 
to be "calculated only to accommodate certain persons who, 
being deeply in debt for real estates and other property 
purchased under contracts to be paid for in solid coin, and 
who now have promoted this measure to serve their own 
private purpose, and although we are willing to unite in 
every reasonable act to relieve the distress, yet we are fully 
convinced that passing this bill is a measure that will not 
have that tendency." The propriety of these apprehensions 
was proven by the fearful experience of the following 
months. That the measure was supported by a large mass 
of the freemen who sincerely believed that in paper was a 
relief from the intolerable burdens of poverty and taxation, 
is as certain as the fact that among its supporters were many 
who supported it as a means of extricating themselves from 
debt. 

The clause in the act which struck dismay to the hearts of 
creditors was that providing that, should any creditor refuse 
to receive the paper, the debtor might discharge the debt by 
depositing the same with one of the judges of the court in 
the county. That official was then to give public notice 
through the newspapers and by a personal notice to the 
creditor to appear and receive the paper. Should the 
creditor fail to appear, the debt was declared cancelled. 

Those who prophesied depreciation had not long to wait 
to see their prophecy fulfilled. Within two months after 
issue the bills had so depreciated that a forcing act was 
deemed necessary by its supporters. Under a pretense of 
great respect for law, was perpetrated one of the greatest acts 
of injustice in the history of paper money. It was insisted that 
the laws must be kept in high esteem and veneration, and the 
paper as good as gold. Again a deputy from Warwick, on 
the plea that "various attempts have been made by a certain 



I2 6 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [244 

class of men, who for mistaken principles, suppose the said 
currency to be injurious to their interests, and from an incli- 
nation to render invalid such laws and regulations of this 
assembly as may not quadrate with their interest, judgment 
and opinion of things," ' introduced a bill providing that rny 
person who should thereafter refuse to take the paper in ex- 
change for any article for sale at face value, or should m ike 
any difference between paper and coin, or tend to depreciate 
or discourage the paper money, should be fined one hun- 
dred pounds for the first offense, and for the second be fined 
the same amount and be rendered incapable of voting or 
holding office in the state. 

The minority, led by Providence, Newport, and Bristol, 
sought to avert serious consequences by a compromise. 
They asked to that end, that a conference be arranged to 
discuss the embodiment in the act of a provision that, forty 
thousand pounds having been issued, the emission should 
cease ; that the clause making paper a tender in payment of 
past contracts be omitted ; that the necessaries of life be 
permitted to be bought for silver and gold, and that the citi- 
zens of other states be relieved from the penalties imposed by 
the act. But the attempt was in vain, and the bill passed 
by a majority of six.' 2 

John Brown, a prominent citizen of Providence, and a 
member of the assembly, characterizing this as a country 
measure, says ; " I have ever wished to reconcile the landed 
and mercantile interests throughout the state from the be- 
ginning, and having real estate in twelve different towns, was 
in hopes of bringing about some conciliatory measure."* 
But conciliatory proposals were lost on a majority deter- 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), 1786-7, 32, June 30; 
United States Chronicle, July 6, 1786. 

2 United States Chronicle, July 6, 13, 1786. 

3 Providence Gazette, July 8, 1 786. 



245] THE PAPER MONE Y ERA l2 j 

mined to carry its point at any cost. A period of absolute 
stagnation in business began. Rather than sell their goods 
and receive in return paper bills, merchants closed their 
stores. It was only with the greatest difficulty that provis- 
ions could be obtained. Many people removed to the 
neighboring states. The farmers who had mortgaged their 
farms to secure paper, being unable to purchase goods with- 
out it, sought to compel the townspeople to accept it by 
withholding produce from the market. Few farmers from 
the neighboring states could be induced to bring their pro- 
duce into Rhode Island, where they might be obliged to 
accept worthless paper for it. It was said that a boy bring- 
ing in a load of potatoes, was compelled to sell his load 
against his will and accept paper in payment. 1 To devise 
some means of providing the people with the necessaries of 
life, a town meeting was held in Providence on the twenty- 
fourth of July. The penal law was denounced. Producers 
were besought to bring corn and meat to market, and should 
any one be fined for refusing to receive paper, the town 
would pay the fine. A subscription was opened to raise 
five hundred dollars with which to purchase corn for those 
in immediate want. Resolutions were also adopted recom- 
mending that no one be molested for bringing goods to 
market, nor for selling them for any price, or in any manner.' 
These measures of the townspeople roused the wrath of 
the country party. South Kingstown, in town meeting, 
recommended that as some of the merchants had refused to 
sell goods for paper, every one ought to refuse to sell them 
cheese, flaxseed, barley, oats, horses, or lumber. 1 The farm- 
ers of Providence county, in convention at Scituate, on the 
tenth of August, sought to concert measures for promoting 

1 Providence Gazette, July 8, 22, 1 7S6. 

1 Providence Town Meeting Records (A/S.~) vii, 69. 

1 Providence Gazette, Aug. 5, 1786. 



I2 8 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [246 

the paper circulation.' Providence sent a committee to 
make overtures to this body for restoring confidence and 
harmony between city and country. The convention ad- 
journed without taking action, to meet with a state conven- 
tion to be held on the twenty-fourth of August at East 
Greenwich, " to consider the propriety of making some 
alteration in the principles of, and laws relating to, the late 
bank of paper money." : The action of this convention 
shows that the changes contemplated were not of the nature 
of relaxations in severity. The delegates from sixteen 
towns who gathered there recommended to the deputies in 
the assembly that they use their utmost endeavors to sup- 
port the acts of the assembly on paper money ; to take into 
consideration the public securities, and liquidate them at a 
stipulated value, and to withhold the staple farm products 
from those who violated the paper money acts. 3 The assur- 
ance that in case the penal laws were repealed, and the use 
of paper restricted to the satisfaction of judgments, the prin- 
cipal merchants would aid in giving circulation to the paper, 
had no effect to alter their recommendation.'' 

The assembly was convened in special session to devise 
further means of enforcing the circulation of paper. The 
amendment now made to the law recited that, whereas " the 
usual and stated methods and times of holding courts within 
this state is impracticable, inexpedient and inapplicable to 
the true intent and meaning of the said act. and altogether 
insufficient to carry into effect the good purposes of this leg- 
islature touching the same," it was enacted that any com- 
plainant might lodge his complaint with a judge of any court 
in any county. It should be the duty of this judge to sum- 
mon the offender to appear within three days for trial, with- 

1 Providence Town Meeting Records (MS.), vii, 71-2. 

3 Providence Gazette, Aug. 19, 17S6. 3 Ibid., Aug. 26, 1786. 

* United States Chronicle, Aug. 26, 1786. 



247] TIIE PAPER MONEY ERA I2 o, 

out jury, before a court of three judges. The decision of a 
majority of the court should prevail. This judgment was to 
be final and without appeal. No delay, protection, privi- 
lege or injunction should be asked or granted. The penalty 
for the first offense was fixed at not less than six nor more 
than thirty pounds, and for the second offense not less than 
ten nor more than fifty pounds.' At the same time the 
paper was made a tender in payment of continental taxes. 2 

It seems as if the advocates of paper had reached the end 
of their course. They had made the paper money law 
retroactive by making it a tender in contracts made before 
May, 1786; they had deprived the citizens not only of 
trade, but of the necessities of life ; they now violated the 
very principles of Magna Carta by suppressing trial by jury. 
Their relations with the Confederation, they now disgraced 
by proposing to pay their quota of taxes in depreciated 
paper. Thirteen members of the assembly, representing the 
towns of Providence, Newport, Bristol, Warren, and New 
Shoreham, entered a protest against this latest legislation. 
In their opinion, this was a violation of the natural and con- 
stitutional rights of the people, a violation of the Articles of 
Confederation, and an evasion of the obligation toward the 
national government. It was a violation of existing treaties 
with foreign states, was destructive of trade credit, and was 
a denial of the right of trial by jury.' 

To restore credit and harmony, they proposed that both 
the tender and penal clauses be repealed ; that when tender 
of paper was made and refused, it should be sufficient war- 
rant for returning a writ as unsatisfied, and that those 
who had mortgaged their lands to receive paper might take 
up the mortgages at once upon paying back the paper. An 
increase in taxes was at the same time suggested. 4 The 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly ( .IAS'.), 17S6-J, 59, Aug. 25, 1786. 
'' Ibid., 55, Aug. 25, 1786. ■ Providence Gazette, Sept. 2, 17S6. 4 Ibid. 



j^q RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [248 

propositions of the protestants were of course indignantly 
rejected. On the other hand, the assembly lent a more 
willing ear to addresses comporting with their own desires. 
The addresses of Governor Collins to the legislature, assign- 
ing as the cause of the special session of the assembly, the 
demands of many citizens on account of the unsettled state 
of the currency arising from a combination of influential 
men against the laws of the state, is a fair example of the 
arguments which sustained and incited the majority. Said 
he, " if there is no check to the present combination against 
the laws, your lives are unsafe, and your liberties are at a 
fatal, a final and a melancholy end." 1 

To complete the work of this extraordinary session, a 
select committee reported a bill to repeal the statute of limi- 
tations then in force, as inconsistent with the laws of the 
state, inexpedient and altogether impracticable. Promis- 
sory notes were henceforth not to be negotiable, and the 
time for bringing action upon them was limited to six 
months. 

There were enacted in almost every town in the state, 
after these laws were passed, scenes which, had not their 
consequences been so serious, would have been most amus- 
ing. Debtors were everywhere eager to pay their debts. 
Creditors scarce dared show themselves on the street for fear 
of meeting a debtor with the paper money in his hand, but 
the care of the legislator had left no mode of escape for the 
creditor. Early in the summer debtors began to deposit 
paper with the courts. Notices began to appear in the 
newspapers summoning creditors to appear and receive the 
same. These notices, with their bold headline " Know Ye," 
of which no less than twenty-six appeared in one issue of the 
Gazette, became notorious throughout the state. " Know 

1 United States Chrsnicle, Sept. 7, 1786. 






249] THE PAPER MONEY ERA I3I 

Ye Men " and " Know Ye Measures," were synonymous 
with rascality and dishonesty. 1 

A convention, held at Smithfield on the thirteenth of Sep- 
tember, devised a scheme by which it was hoped to extricate 
the state from its present predicament. This was to be 
accomplished by the establishment of a " State Trade," a 
sort of socialistic scheme, to be conducted by a committee 
of the assembly, by which produce and lumber received in 
payment of taxes was to be exported. The specie so 
gained was to be devoted to paying the foreign debt. To 
consider this plan a special session of the assembly was 
asked for, but no response was made to the suggestion and 
the matter was dropped. 

The paper money power had now reached its height. The 
exertions of its advocates had forced upon the state a policy 
repeatedly proven to be disastrous. It was left to the judi- 
cial power to inflict upon the system the blow which should 
break the hold of paper. This was brought about through 
the case of Trevett vs. Weeden, brought by John Trevett 
against John Weeden, of Newport, butcher, for refusing to 
receive paper money at par with specie. The excitement 
created in the state by this case was only equalled by the 
importance of the principles involved. Its importance arises 
from its connection with both the paper money legislation 
and the question of the independence of the judiciary. Each 
faction in the state felt that on the result of this trial de- 
pended the fate of its cause. 

The information was exhibited before Paul Mumford, 
chief justice, but as the superior court was then sitting, the 
case was heard before the full bench, on the twenty-fifth of 
September."' 

1 Providence Gazette, Aug. 12, et seq. 

! The details of this case are taken from a pamphlet report by Gen. |. M. 
Varnum, printed soon after in the Providence Gazette of Sept. 30 and Oct. 7, and 
the American Museum, v, 36. 



j 32 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [250 

Despite the fact that Weeden was in the deepest poverty, 
the best legal talent in the state was at his service. His 
counsel were Gen. James M. Varnum, of East Greenwich, 
and Henry Marchant, of Newport. The plaintiff's case 
rested on proof of the violation of the statute. The defend- 
ant's plea covered three points, in these words : " It appears 
by the act of the general assembly whereon said information 
is founded, that the said act hath expired, and hath no force ; 
also, for that by the said act the matters of complaint are 
made triable before special courts, incontrolable by the su- 
preme judiciary court of the state ; and also for that the 
court is not, by said act, authorized and empowered to em- 
pannel a jury to try the facts tried in the information ; and 
so the same is unconstitutional and void : all which the said 
Weeden is ready to verify. Where he prays judgment of the 
court here, that they will not take further cognizance of the 
said information." ' 

When General Varnum arose to defend his client, it was 
not so much, as he said, " in the line of my profession, as in 
the character of the citizen deeply interested in the constitu- 
tional laws of a free, independent and sovereign state." " The 
parties to this action, said he, " are of no further consequence 
than as the one represents the almost forlorn hope of a dis- 
appointed circle ; the other as a victim, the first destined to 
the fury of their intemperate zeal and political phrenzy." 3 

The obscure phraseology of the act, which left it open to 
the construction that the penalties and forms prescribed 
were to be valid for only ten days, was the first point of at- 
tack. It was argued that the case at bar, being outside the 
limit set in the act, would not be cognizable under it. 

Upon the plea that the trial was to be before a special 
court, without appeal, it was argued that the constitution 

1 Varnum, Trevett vs. Weeden, 2. 

2 Ibid., 3. 3 Ibid., 7. 



2 c 1 1 THE PAPER MONE Y ERA \ 3 3 

was subverted. The efficacy of the judiciary, as Varnum 
pointed out, depends on uniformity of decision, which can 
exist only in the presence of a single supreme court of ap- 
peals. This would be impossible in the presence of the 
court provided for in the act. The act of 1729 had estab- 
lished one " Supreme Court of Judicature, Court of Assize 
and General Gaol Delivery, over the whole colony, for the 
regular hearing and trying of all pleas, real, personal and 
mixed, and all pleas of the crown." 1 This court must be 
supreme, and any special court over which this court had no 
jurisdiction must be unconstitutional. 

The last plea involving the right of trial by jury, was de- 
fended in a speech, the like of which had not been heard be- 
fore at the Rhode Island bar. The development of the right, 
its assertion in Magna Carta, its reiterations down to the 
granting of the charter of 1663, and even to the present, were 
arrayed as proof of its existence as a right of the people. 
This right could be alienated only by a change in the con- 
stitution. The legislature possessed no such power except 
by the express consent of the people. This they had never 
given. 

The advocate then entered on a fervid plea for the inde- 
pendence of the judiciary. He said: "The legislative have 
the uncontrollable power of making laws not repugnant to 
the constitution. The judiciary have the sole power of 
judging those laws, and are bound to execute them, but can- 
not admit any act of the legislature as law which is against 
the constitution.""' A double tie binds the legislature to - 
observe the constitution, " but if the general assembly 
attempt to make laws contrary hereunto, the court cannot 
receive them." ' In developing this idea. Varnum applies 
the quotation from Bacon's Abridgment, that " if a stat- 

1 Laws of Rhode Island, 1730. 
Varnum, Trevett ts. Weeden, 27. ' Ibid., 28. 



134 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [252 

ute ... be repugnant, or impossible to be performed, the 
common law shall control it and judge it to be void." l 
"This act is repugnant when it authorizes the judges to pro- 
ceed without a jury, according to the law of the land." The 
jury being the judges as to fact, and the court as to law, it 
would be impossible for judges to try a man without a jury 
and yet according to the law of the land. " This act there- 
fore is impossible to be executed." ' By this argument this 
case is directly linked with the " Case of the Convent Seals, 
and the Statute of Carlisle," the first case in which a common 
law court said that an unrepealed statute was void for cause 
judicially ascertained. 3 The whole argument closed with 
an appeal once more for an independent judiciary, for de- 
pendence of that department is the high road to tyranny. 
The decision of the court was " that the information was not 
cognizable before them." * 

The decision was hailed with joy in Providence and New- 
port. Business at once awoke, and for a short time paper 
circulated freely, since it was known that it could be accepted 
or refused at will. From the point of view of the hard 
money people, the chief trouble was past. The paper could 
no longer be forced on an unwilling people. But on the 
part of the defeated party, momentary dismay was turned 
to wrath against the superior court. The assembly, the 
willing instrument of the paper money policy, was now 
called into service. The assembly, at its October session, 
peremptorily called the judges of the superior court before 
them in the following words : " Whereas it appears that the 
honorable, the justices of the Superior Court of Judicature, 

1 Bacon's Abridgment, iv, 635 ; Varnum, Trevett vs. JVeeden, 30. 

2 Varnum, Trevett vs. IVeeden, 30. See discussion in Brinton Coxe's Judicial 
Power and Unconstitutional Legislation, 234-48. 

3 Statutes of the Realm, i, 150. 

4 Varnum, Trevett vs. Weeden, 1. 



253] THE PAPER MONE Y ERA T 3 5 

Court of Assize, etc., at the last September term of the said 
court declared and adjudged an act of the supreme legisla- 
ture of this state to be unconstitutional, and so absolutely 
void ; and whereas it is suggested that the aforesaid judg- 
ment is unprecedented in this state and may tend directly to 
abolish the legislative authority thereof ; it is therefore voted 
and resolved that all the justices of the said court be forth- 
with cited by the sheriffs of the respective counties in which 
they live or may be found to give their immediate attendance 
on the assembly to assign the reasons and grounds of the 
aforesaid judgment; and that the clerk of the said court be 
directed to attend this assembly at the same time, with the 
records of the said court which relate to the said judgment." 1 

The original summons, as it passed the lower house, con- 
tained also these words, which were stricken out by senate 
amendment: "In order that this assembly on proper infor- 
mation may adopt such measures as may establish the 
supremacy of the legislative authority.""' 

Two judges being detained at home by illness, the hearing 
was adjourned until the last Monday in the month, when all 
the judges appeared before the assembly. 

This summons was but the logical result of the position 
always assumed by the legislature of the colony. It had 
always maintained that it was the source of all power as the 
representative of the popular will. It has already been 
noticed how, under the provision of the charter of 1663, em- 
powering the general assembly " to appoint, order and 
direct, erect and settle, such places and courts of jurisdiction 
for the hearing and determining of all actions, cases, matters 
and things, happening within the said colony and plantation," 
a "General Court of Trials" had been created, composed of 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (J/.S.), jjSb-j, 61. 
1 Ibid.. 61. 



136 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [254 

the governor or deputy governor and at least six assistants. 1 
In 1678, the general assembly refused in terms " to judge or 
reverse any sentence or judgement passed by the general 
court of trials, according to law, except capital or criminal 
cases, or mulcts or fines."" In May, 1 78 1 , it was voted 
that, " if either plaintiff or defendant be aggrieved, after judg- 
ment entered in court, they may have liberty to make their 
appeal to the next general assembly for relief." 1 

In a letter to the Lords of Trade and Plantations, from the 
Earl of Bellomont, under date of November twenty-seventh, 
1699, that official reports that the assembly of Rhode Island 
has judicial power of hearing and determining causes, of tak- 
ing them out of the courts of law, and reversing judgments 
without regard for the rules of the common law. 4 

In consequence of a decision of the Privy Council, on an 
appeal from a judgment of the assembly, the latter body re- 
pealed the act, assuming for itself chancery powers, and 
provided that a court of chancery should be established. 5 
At the same time, petition was to lie to the assembly and 
the petitioner was to have relief " in any matter or thing that 
may be cognizable before them, or that may at any time 
hereafter, when a proper court of chancery be stated, have 
their appeals continued for relief, if they shall think fit to 
prosecute the same." 6 Appeals thus continued to come 
before the assembly, and no court of equity was established 
until 1741. 7 Then it was done because attention to such 
cases impeded the public business. The court of equity 
was soon abolished and a writ of review substituted, whereby 
in certain cases a new trial might be secured. 8 It is certain 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, ii, 26. 2 Ibid., iii, 19. 

3 Acts and Laws, 1745, 19. 

4 Rhode Island Colonial Records, iii, 386. 

b Ibid., iii, 550. 6 Ibid., iv, 136. 

7 Acts and Laws, 1743, 239. 8 Ibid., 282. 



255] THE PAPER MONE ) ' 1: R. 1 ! 37 

from the records that from this time onward, as long as the 
state continued under the charter, judicial power was exer- 
cised by the general assembly. It was not until the year 
1856, that this power was finally taken from it.' 

When on the thirtieth of October, 1786, the judges ap- 
peared before the legislature, each party was nerved for a 
bitter fight. David Howell, the youngest judge on the bench, 
whose reputation as a legislator had been won in Congress, 
first addressed the assembly.' The order on which the judges 
were then before the assembly, said he, might be considered 
either as calling on them to assist in legislation, or to give 
the reasons for their decision, as if accountable for it to the 
legislature. Upon the first supposition, the court was ever 
ready to give its counsel to the assembly on points of law; 
but for decisions rendered in cases heard before them, they 
were accountable only to God and their own consciences. 

After a resume of the arguments which proved that the act 
"was unconstitutional, had not the force of law, and could 
not be executed," 1 he observed that in the summons they 
had been alleged to declare the act unconstitutional and so 
void, whereas this was simply found in the plea, while the 
judgment was "that the information is not cognizable before 
them." Whatever the private opinion of the judges might 
be, they could be held only by their record. This, however, 
he denied the right of the legislature to question. 

Judge Tillinghast expressed his feeling of independence in 
his sphere of duty, for, said he, " melancholy indeed would 
be the condition of the citizens, if the supreme judiciary of 
the state was liable to reprehension, whenever the caprice or 

' Rhode Island Reports, iv, 324. 

'The sources of information on the trial of the judges are: Acts and Resoives 
of the General Assembly (M.S.), 1786-7; Providence Gazette, Nov. II, 1786, and 
Varnum, Trevettvs. U'eeden. 

H'arnura, Trevettvs. U'eeden, 38. 



!38 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [256 

resentment of a few leading men should direct a public in- 
quiry." ' 

The words of Judge Hazard are of peculiar interest as com- 
ing from a friend of paper money. "It is well known," said 
he, "that my sentiments have fully accorded with the gen- 
eral system of the legislature in emitting the paper currency; 
but I never did, I never will, depart from the character of an 
honest man, to support any measures, however agreeable in 
themselves. . . . The opinion I gave upon the trial was dic- 
tated by the energy of truth ; I thought it right — I still 
think so." a 

After long discussion the question was put "whether the 
assembly was satisfied with the reasons given by the judges 
in support of their judgment?" It was decided in the nega- 
tive. A motion to dismiss the judges from office evoked a 
protest, signed by Judges Hazard, Tillinghast, and Howell, 
wherein they insisted on their full power in construing the 
laws of the state as a court of last resort. As no charge had 
been brought against them in their true judicial capacity, if 
such was to be brought they demanded trial before some 
legal tribunal. Without such trial and conviction, they de- 
nied the right of the legislature to convict them. 3 Upon the 
request of the assembly for counsel from the three lawyers 
sitting in that body, it was given as their opinion that with- 
out impeachment or other regular process of law, the judges 
could not be removed from office. Thereupon it was voted 
by a large majority, "that as the judges are not charged 
with any criminality in rendering the judgment upon the in- 
formation Trevetl vs. Weeden, they are therefore discharged 
from any further attendance upon this assembly, on that 
account." 4 

1 Varnum, Trevett vs. Weeden, 43. ''■Ibid. 3 Ibid., 45. 

4 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), 1786-7, Nov. 3, 1786; 
Providence Gazette, Nov. 11, 1786; United States Chronicle, Nov. 9, 1786. 



257] TIIE PA PER M0NE Y ERA 1 3 9 

Though baffled in this direction, the legislature had re- 
maining a weapon to be wielded by their constituencies in 
the form of the ballot at the annual election. But though 
the assembly, for three score and ten years, continued to re- 
view the work of the courts, yet never again did they pre- 
sume to hold a court answerable for its decisions. 

The dominant party, chagrined at the failure of its en- 
deavors to coerce the courts, as well as at the demonstrations 
following the decision in Trevett vs. Wceden, now chose an- 
other line of aggression. The assembly that issued the sum- 
mons to the judges, resolved that the text of an act entitled 
" An act to stimulate and give efficacy to the paper bills 
emitted by this state in May last," be forwarded to the sev- 
eral towns to be submitted to the freemen in town meeting, 
and an opinion returned to the assembly at its next session 
in the form of instructions to the deputies.' The proposed 
act declared in its preamble, that whereas certain persons 
had accumulated great wealth by depreciating securities and 
buying them at a reduced price, and were now attempting to 
depreciate the paper, therefore it was proposed to require 
every citizen to take a test oath to make every endeavor that 
paper money should have an equal value with specie, and to 
sell or expose for sale no article for which he would not take 
in payment either paper or gold at the same rate. Every 
person taking the oath was to be enrolled at the town clerk's 
office, and to receive a certificate of having complied with 
the law. All incumbents in office as well as all newly elected 
officers, together with practicing lawyers and all persons en- 
tering or clearing vessels at any port were to be obliged to 
subscribe. No person was to be eligible to office until the 
oath had been taken. Violations of the law were to be ac- 
tionable as perjury. 

1 I'nited States Chronicle, Oct. 12, 1786; Providence Gazette, Oct. 14, 1786. 
* Ibid. 



I40 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [258 

Alarmed at the prospect, the leaders of the opposition, 
together with the more moderate of the party in the ascend- 
ancy, again attempted to effect a compromise whereby the 
penal laws might be repealed. Further, they proposed that 
a tender of paper be not made to work a discharge of the 
debt, but simply to stop the accumulation of interest ; that the 
excise be revived and made payable in paper ; that the state 
tax be made higher and paid more punctually, and that the 
principal and interest of the state debt be paid in paper. 1 
By making paper acceptable in payment of certain taxes, and 
leaving it at the option of creditors to accept or reject this 
medium, it was hoped that a certain currency might be given 
it. But with the trial of the judges still pending, and the 
test act before the people, and a chance of its ratification, 
the country party were encouraged flatly to refuse a con- 
ference. 

Though its devotees in the assembly were still confident, 
public opinion on the forcing acts was undergoing a change. 
The distresses of the past summer, the decision in Trevett 
vs. Weeden, and, above all, that inherent sense of justice 
which, though dulled for a time, is sure at length to assert 
itself in the public mind, had prepared the people to receive 
with detestation the proposition to carry forward the system. 
Replies in the form of instructions began to appear at an 
early date. Providence, at a town meeting on October 
seventeenth, judging the act to be " unconstitutional, unjust, 
impolitic, tending to drive people into parties violently op- 
posed to each other," * and declaring that when a man loses 
the right to buy and to sell, he becomes a slave, directed its 
deputies to oppose this almost proscriptive act. In the sis- 
ter capital, it was thought that this test might lead to others, 

1 United States Chronicle, Oct. 12, 1786; Providence Gazette, Oct. 14, 1786. 

2 Providence Toivn Meeting Records, vii, 73-4. 



259] THE PAPER MONEY ERA 141 

religious or political, or would at least tend to subvert the 
liberties of the people and lead to an aristocracy. 1 

East Greenwich, adopting a similar course, directed her 
deputies to work for a settlement of the difficulties concern- 
ing the paper money, a renewal of the excise and high taxes, 
and the preservation of the right of trial by jury.' 2 Cum- 
berland, which eight months before had been vociferous 
for paper money, decided that the passage of a test act 
would appreciate the paper in the hands of the present 
holders, multiply oaths, make the people familiar with ex- 
cessive punishments, embarrass commerce by excluding 
imports, and raise the price of necessities. 3 Even Glouces- 
ter, the stronghold of the country party, realizing that 
commerce had been destroyed, voted that they wished the 
bill " to be forever rejected." * 

Only three towns in the state placed themselves on record 
as favoring the act. These were Scituate, Foster and North 
Kingstown. The act so universally censured was quickly 
disposed of by the assembly at its meeting on November 
second. ' 

The acquittal of the judges, supported by the sentiment 
displayed on the proposed test act, made the whole series of 
force acts practically inoperative. Though still upon the 
statute books, friend and foe alike knew that they would 
never again become operative. In the December session 
the assembly attempted to deal with the changed condition of 
affairs. The force act of June, which made it a crime to refuse 
paper on a par with specie, together with all subsequent addi- 

1 I'afers Relating to the Adoption of the Constitution {MS.), 40. 

2 Ibid., 44. 3 Ibid., 43. 

4 Warwick, Bristol, North Providence, Tiverton, Cranston, Exeter, Hopkinton, 
and Portsmouth. Ibid., 41. 

6 Acts and Resolves oj the General Assembly {MS.), 1786-7, 70; United States 
Chronicle, Nov. 2, 1786. 



I4 2 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION r 2 6o 

tions and amendments, was repealed.' Paper was still, by the 
act of May, a legal tender, and deposits with the courts still 
operated to discharge the debt. As some of the judges now 
began to receive such deposits, and to give notice of their in- 
tention to do so, it was enacted that a debtor might make his 
deposit with any judge. 2 In their attempts to relieve the con- 
dition of debtors, two suggestions of the Smithfield convention 
of September thirteenth were acted upon by the assembly. 
The English statute limiting the time of bringing personal 
actions, which had been repealed during the war, but re- 
enacted in 1785, was now amended so that all actions on 
promissory notes and book accounts must be brought within 
two years.* The negotiability of promissory notes was de- 
stroyed by making it necessary that action upon them be 
brought in the name of the original promisee.* 

The friends of sound money began to look forward to the 
April election as the next occasion on which an attack could 
be made upon the party in power. In the meantime, paper 
was to reign in the session of the assembly which met on 
March twelfth, and to reflect both the narrowness and the 
meanness of the cause which it upheld. Several acts, among 
which were the removal of the postmaster at Newport for an 
alleged insult to the governor in detaining letters addressed 
to him until postage was paid, and the withdrawing of the 
charter of the city of Newport on a petition representing 
one-seventeenth of the taxable property, stand as evidences 
of their capacity in other directions. 5 That its members 
were in sympathy with the riotous conduct of the masses in 
the neighboring states was made evident by their refusing 
to deliver up to the Massachusetts authorities some of the 
offenders in Shays' rebellion. 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly {MS.), 1786-7, 92, Jan. 6, 1787. 

2 Ibid., 80, Dec. 29-30, 1786. 3 Ibid., 82, Jan. 6, 1787. i Ibid., 82. 
5 Rhode Island Colonial Records, x, 233. 



2 6 1 1 THE PAPER MONEY ERA T43 

In pursuance of a line of policy adopted in October of the 
previous year, and followed out in the late session, the ob- 
ject of which was to ascertain the public debt with a view to 
extinguishing it, the assembly had at the last session made 
provision for paying one-fourth part of such debt in the 
money received as state taxes, that is, in paper. 1 Now the 
act was extended to cover all forms of securities held against 
the state. Creditors were notified to present their securities 
and to receive one-fourth payment on them or to forfeit all 
claim to such part thereafter. Here was a simple proposition 
whereby one-fourth of the state debt was to be repudiated ; 
for to make payments in the paper was repudiation and 
nothing less. 

Thus closed the last session of the year 1786-7. No 
more disastrous year is recorded in the annals of Rhode 
Island. Her reputation in the community of states was 
gone. To a nation prejudiced by the state's opposition to 
the salutary measures of Congress, her name became a 
synonym of all that was disreputable and dishonest. Allu- 
sions of this nature are to be found in almost every publica- 
tion of the day. The Connecticut Magazine added to these 
a poetical effusion : 

" Hail, realm of rogues, renowned for fraud and guile, 
All hail, ye knaveries of yon little isle. 

****** 
Look through the state, the unhallowed ground appears 
A nest of dragons and a cave for bears; 
A nest of vipers mixed with adders foul. 

****** 
The wiser race, the snares of law to shun, 
Like Lot from Sodom, from Rhode Island run."' 

The existence of the tender law made the administration 

1 Schedules of the General Assembly, October (2d) Session, 1786, 86; Ibid., De- 
cember Session, 1786, 21. 

2 Prmidettce Gazette, Apr. 14, 1787. 



! 4 4 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION {262 

of justice almost farcial. The superior court which, since its 
encounter with the assembly, had not sat with a full bench, 
was adjourned at its March term for three weeks because the 
depreciation of paper made the administration of justice im- 
possible. At this adjourned session all cases involving large 
amounts were put over until a future term, probably in the 
hope that a change in affairs might be brought about in the 
meantime. At the April term in Washington county more 
than twenty bills in equity were heard for the redemption of 
mortgaged estates. The paper for redeeming these estates 
was brought into court by the sackfull. Determined not to 
make a farce of justice, the judges refused to record these 
tenders, and put over all such cases until the next term. 
They hoped that at the coming election an assembly would 
be elected which would sweep away the paper money laws. 
If this was not accomplished the court knew very well that 
their removal would be sure, and the responsibility of the 
whole matter would be cast on other shoulders. 

The general election had for some weeks been the center 
of expectant interest. Two tickets or "Proxes" were in the 
field. That of the party in power bore the legend " Liberty 
and Property secured by Perseverance." The name of John 
Collins headed the ticket, supported by that of Daniel Owen, 
for deputy governor. 1 The opposition ticket bore the names 
of William Bradford and John Malbone. 2 Collins and Owen 
had proved to be a strong combination in the year that was 
closing. The former, a man of moderate views, was calcu- 
lated to hold the wavering spirits; the latter was the 
acknowledged leader of the paper money party in its strong- 
hold, Gloucester. In William Bradford the sound money 
party put forward a man who had been identified with every 
step in the Revolution. He was a member of the committee 

1 Rhode Island Historical Society's Collections (AIS.), vii, 31. 

2 Ibid., 32. 



263] IllE PAPER MONEY ERA I45 

of correspondence appointed in 1773, of the committee of 
safety in 1775, and of the Hartford Convention of 1780, of 
which latter body he was president. He was chosen a 
member of the Continental Congress as the successor of 
Stephen Hopkins, and served as deputy governor from 1775 
to 1778. John Malbone, a representative of one of New- 
port's oldest mercantile houses, stood for the commercial 
interests of the colony. 1 

The opposition sought to rally supporters to their standard 
through the press. An address issued to the free electors 
averred that the character of the state was already so debased 
that to be an inhabitant of Rhode Island was synonymous 
with being a villain. The continuation of the tender laws in 
the face of depreciation was cited as proof of the dishonest 
motives of the party in power. It was charged that a law to 
prevent bribery and corruption passed by the last assembly 
had been put forward with the hope of preventing the 
Quakers from voting.' " A Farmer " confessed that in 1786 
he had voted for paper, partly because he considered the old 
administration opposed to the interests of the people at 
large. The people had wanted a legal tender paper founded 
on landed security and redeemable, but the emission had 
been too large. The penal acts, the test oath bill, the act 
annulling the indorsement of notes, and the change in the 
statute of limitations, had overdone the matter. They had 
all been fabricated with the sole purpose of making a tender 

'The remainder of the paper money ticket was: For Assistants, Joseph 
Staunton, John Williams, Sylvester Sayles, James Arnold, Caleb Gardner, John 
Cook, William Congdon, Joseph Tweedy, Thomas Coggeshall and Thomas 
Hazard; for Secretary, Henry Ward; for Attorney-General, Henry Goodwin; for 
Treasurer, Joseph ( larke. Opposed to them were, for Assistants, John Jenks, 
Simeon Perry, John Smith, Richard Searle, Thomas Rice, William Hammond, 
Gideon Clarke, Henry Bliss, Joseph T.aker, and Peleg Arnold; for Attorney-Gen- 
real, William ( banning, Henry Ward and Joseph Clarke had no opposition. 

* Proi'idence Gazette, Apr. 7, 1787. 



I4 6 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [264 

and refusal an extinguishment of a debt. He suggested 
that the compromise proposed in the previous June might 
still solve the difficulty. 1 

The April election came and went, and left the paper 
money party still in power. Of the eighty assistants and 
deputies who assembled at the May session of the legis- 
lature, only twenty-four were new comers. From James- 
town, Cumberland, Cranston, Barrington, and Warren new 
delegations appeared. How much of this change was due 
to a change in public sentiment on paper money is unknown. 
The strength of the majority in the north, west, and south re- 
mained unbroken. The judges of the superior court were 
made to pay the penalty of their insubordination. Chief 
Justice Mumford alone was re-elected. 

Encouraged by this victory, the party in power felt pre- 
pared to hold out not only against their own fellow-citizens, 
but against public sentiment in the other states. But though 
possessing a majority in the assembly, they attempted no 
new measures for promoting the paper money, but confined 
themselves to carrying out the work of repudiation already 
begun. The paper money movement from this time is the 
record of a gradual recession from a policy which was soon 
to be gradually abandoned. 

The payment of the state debt in paper, which had been 
begun in March, was continued at the June session, 1787, 
when a second quarter of all securities held against the state, 
excepting certain four per cent, notes, to be ordered paid.* 
In November of the same year, a third quarter was dis- 
charged, 11 and on May tenth, 1788, the last quarter was or- 
dered to be paid. 4 To complete the work of repudiation, in 

1 Providence Gazette. Apr. 14, 1787. 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), 1786-7, June 16, 1787. 

3 Ibid., Nov. 3, 1787. *Ibid., 1788-90; May 10, 1788. 



265] THE PAPER MONEY ERA 147 

March of the following year, those notes which had been 
heretofore excepted were called in.' 

On the approach of the April election, the position of the 
towns was in several cases set forth in instructions to their 
deputies. Providence declared that the tender laws, and the 
present statute of limitations, ought to be repealed/ On the 
very same day, South Kingstown instructed her delegates to 
oppose the repeal of any of the acts of issue. 1 ' Midway be- 
tween these stood Westerly, when she demanded a contin- 
uance of the tender laws but a repeal of the statute of limi- 
tations. 4 A call for the repeal of one or both of these laws 
was re-echoed from Jamestown, Middletown, Bristol, Little 
Compton, and Hopkinton. South Kingstown found as a 
supporter of her position West Greenwich.' 1 The larger 
share of the country towns seem to have trusted to the well 
known sentiments of their deputies. At the session which 
preceded the election, the opposition only succeeded in 
securing the extension of the time for bringing personal ac- 
tions from two years to four. 7 A motion to repeal the 
tender law was defeated by a large majority. 8 

As the third year of the sway of paper money drew to its 
close the dominant party weakened perceptibly. In March, 
1789, a motion to repeal the tender law was lost by a vote 
of nineteen to thirty-seven. 9 In June of the same year the 
vote on a similar motion stood twenty to thirty. 10 The 
assembly in September, confessing that as the bills of credit 
had depreciated, great injustice would result unless some- 

1 Acts and Resolves 0/ the Genera/ Assembly {MS.), 1786-7, Mar. 14, 17S9; 

1 Providence Town Meeting Records, vii, 118. 

■' Papers Relating to the Adoption 0/ the Constitution (MS.), 63. 

4 Ibid., 60. ■'• Ibid., 49, 62-4. « Ibid., 65. 

''Schedules of the General Assembly, March Session, 1788, II. 

8 United States Chronicle, Apr. 10, 1788. 

% Ibid., May 19, 1789. l0 Ibid., June 18, 1789. 



I4 8 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [266 

thing was done, suspended the act making a tender and 
lodgement of the paper a discharge of the debt, until the 
rising of the next session. 1 At the next session, as was 
anticipated, the assembly proceeded to do that long de- 
ferred act of justice, and repealed the act of May, 1786, which 
made paper a legal tender at par with coin. 2 The scarcity 
of specie and the accumulation of debts having made it im- 
possible for debtors to meet their obligations in hard money, 
it was enacted that real estate and certain articles of personal 
property might be tendered in payment of debts. The rate 
of acceptance of paper was fixed at fifteen of paper for 
one of silver. But for all contracts made since November, 
1786, unless specified to be in gold or silver, paper was to be 
taken at par/' 

So closed the drama of paper money in Rhode Island. 
Conceived in ignorance, and supported by folly and dishon- 
esty, it had brought discord, repudiation and misery. It 
disappeared, leaving a disorganized finance and a majority 
in power inflamed by passion, whose persistence in opposi- 
tion to salutary national measures was bringing Rhode Island 
to the verge of war with her sister states. However just her 
motives, however steadfast her hold on principle, still the 
work of the year 1786 so lowered her in the eyes of her 
neighbors that only bad and perverse motive could be seen 
in her acts respecting the federal constitution. It is owing 
to prejudice and distrust it aroused against the state and to 
its influence in preparing the way for strife over the consti- 
tution, that this episode has its vital connection with the 
relations of Rhode Island to the union. 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly {MS.), 1788-90, 117. 
1 Ibid., 128. ' /to/., 128. 



CHAPTER V 

RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION 

THE Confederation had, in the first five years of its exist- 
ence, proved its inadequacy. Even before it went into effect, 
the far reaching political sense of Hamilton saw its weakness, 
and suggested a remedy. 1 Half a decade and a succession 
of fortuitous events were necessary to bring public opinion 
to the point of action. The remoter cause of the convention 
of 1787 was the fact and growing conviction of the ineffi- 
ciency of the Articles of Confederation. The immediate 
antecedents were the Alexandria and Annapolis conventions. 
The development of the remoter cause was, in each state, the 
resultant of the forces of local politics working therein. 

In Rhode Island those forces received their impetus far 
back before the Revolution, when the rivalry of Providence 
and Newport had created two parties. Newport, the historic, 
commercial, and social metropolis of the colony, watched the 
rise of Providence with a jealous eye. The natural conse- 
quence of growth was a demand on the part of Providence, 
for recognition in politics. Consideration she won for her- 
self when, in 1755, Stephen Hopkins was elected governor 
over a candidate put forward by Newport. This was the sig- 
nal for the opening of hostilities between the two towns 
under the leadership of Stephen Hopkins and Samuel Ward. 
These northern and southern parties, the one dominant in 
Providence county and the adjoining towns in Kent and 
Bristol, the other strong in Newport and Kings counties, 

1 Letter to Duane, Sept. 30, 17S0. Lodge, Works of Hamilton, i, 203. 
267 J '49 



!50 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [268 

struggled with varying success until 1768, when impelled by 
a common sentiment against ministerial oppression, a com- 
promise was effected. The progress and outcome of this 
struggle has been traced in an earlier chapter. At the close 
of the war, old party divisions reappeared, but dividing lines 
were drawn differently from those of former days. Newport 
had lost her prestige. Her commerce was ruined and her 
most influential citizens gone. Providence, which had grown 
in importance, became the center of the descendants of the 
old Ward party. The old Hopkins party, deprived of the 
support of its chief town, welcomed to its fold Kings, now 
Washington county, from which the Ward influence had de- 
parted. The seaport or town party soon saw that their com- 
mercial prosperity depended on the stability and credit 
which could only be gained through a strong central govern- 
ment. The quiet advances of this really numerical minority 
are marked by grants to Congress bit by bit of the powers 
desired by that body. 

The economic and industrial conditions which resulted in 
social convulsions in all the northern states in 1786-7, mani- 
fested themselves in Rhode Island in the overthrow of the 
town party and the accession of the country party to power, 
with its accompaniment of paper money, repudiation and 
distress. As no unjust and unnatural system is destined to 
long life, the fall of paper money was swift and complete. 
But the party which instituted the policy, plunged into 
deeper misery by its course, met all measures tending to- 
ward a stronger government with bitter hostility. The rem- 
nant of the paper money party formed a nucleus about 
which all opponents of a closer union grouped themselves. 

It was the Annapolis convention that directly led to the 
Federal convention. As a prelude to this, there was held at 
Mount Vernon, in March, 1785, a meeting of commissioners 
from the states of Maryland and Virginia, which drew up an 



269] RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION \^\ 

agreement concerning the navigation of the Potomac and the 
opening of a road to the Ohio. Further than this, they 
recommended that the states arrange similar duties, a uni- 
form system of dockage, a uniform currency and an annual 
meeting of commissioners to discuss the commercial policy 
of the two states. 1 Both states having ratified the work 
of the commissioners, Virginia, on Janurry twenty-sixth, 
1786, elected eight delegates to meet the delegates of 
the other states " to take into consideration the trade of the 
United States; to examine the relative situation and trade 
of the said states; to consider how far a uniform system 
in their commercial regulations may be necessary to their 
common interest and their permanent harmony, and to report 
to the several states such an act relative to this great 
object as, when unanimously ratified by them, will enable 
the United States in Congress assembled effectually to pro- 
vide for the same." ' 

A circular letter was sent by the commissioners to the 
other states, asking that delegates be appointed, naming the 
first Monday in September, 1700, as the day, and Annapolis 
as the place of meeting. On the eleventh of September, 
delegates from five states met for organization. New York, 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia were repre- 
sented ; Connecticut, Maryland, South Carolina and Georgia 
appointed no delegates ; Massachusetts elected delegates, 
but at so late a day that they did not arrive until the con- 
vention had adjourned. 1 In Rhode Island no movement was 
made to elect delegates until June, when Jabez Bowen and 
Samuel Ward were appointed to attend, with instructions 
similar to those given to the Virginia delegates.' But, like 

1 Virginia State Papers, iv, 80 ; Pennsylvania Archives, x, 511 ; Ilenning, 
Statutes at Large, xii, 50. 

1 Elliot's Debates, i, 1 1 2- 1 1 6. s Ibid., 1 1 5. 

4 Schedules of the General Assembly, June Session, 1 786, 5. 



! 52 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [270 

Massachusetts, they were met on the way by the news that 
the convention had adjourned. The avowed objects of this 
convention contained nothing which could rouse the oppo- 
sition even of Rhode Island. Moreover, whatever might be 
suggested would have effect only after ratification by all the 
states. The tardiness of both Massachusetts and Rhode 
Island can probably be explained by the dilatory manner in 
which representative bodies of that day usually met. They 
thought that the convention would likewise be late in organ- 
izing. 1 The work of this body, so important as a step to- 
ward the convention to follow, was embodied in a report 
addressed to the states represented. This report, reviewing 
the defects of the confederation, recommended that all the 
states choose delegates to a convention to meet at Philadel- 
phia on the second Monday in May, 1787, " to take into con- 
sideration the situation of the United States, to devise such 
further provisions as shall appear to them necessary to 
render the constitution of the federal government adequate 
to the exigencies of the Union." 2 The results of this meet- 
ing were to be reported to Congress, and after its ratification 
by that body and by the states, was to become effective. 3 On 
February twenty- first, Congress resolved that a convention 
of delegates should be held on the second Monday in May 
at Philadelphia, " for the sole and express purpose of review- 
ing the Articles of Confederation, and reporting to Congress 
and the several legislatures such alterations and provisions 
therein as shall, when agreed to in Congress, and confirmed 
by the states, render the federal Constitution adequate to the 
exigencies of government and the preservation of the Union." * 
The states led by New Jersey, on November twenty-third, 

'Gilpin, Madison Papers, ii, 700; Providence Gazette, July 8, 1786. 

2 Original copy sent to Rhode Island is in Rhode Island Archives, Letters, 
1785-8, 56. 

3 Elliot's Debates, i, 116. * Ibid., i, 1 19. 



271] RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION 153 

had begun to appoint delegates even before the passage of 
the resolution by Congress. By the day set for the conven- 
tion, nine states had chosen representatives. Connecticut, 
Maryland, and New Hampshire made their appointments be- 
fore the end of June. Rhode Island alone was unrepresented. 
Emphasizing the necessity of a convention, her delegates 
wrote of the government: "We think it our duty to inform 
the state that it is totally inefficient for the purposes of the 
union, and that Congress without being invested with exten- 
sive powers must prove totally nugatory." ' They declared 
their willingness to retire to private life if only they could 
" see such a degree of energy infused into the Federal gov- 
ernment as may render it adequate to the great ends of its 
original institution." * These were the sentiments of a man 
of culture, uttered by James Manning, president of Brown 
University, who looked with disfavor upon the popular 
movement in Rhode Island. 

The question of appointing delegates to the Philadelphia 
convention first came before the general assembly at that 
March session of 1787 which was infamous for repudiation, 
and was rejected by a majority of twenty-three.'' This action, 
though not unanticipated, caused Rhode Island to become 
a pariah among the states. Madison said : " Rhode Island 
alone refuses her concurrence. A majority of more than 
twenty in the legislature of that state has refused to follow 
the general example. Being conscious of the wickedness of 
the measures they are pursuing, they are afraid of everything 
that may become a control on them."* Again he wrote: 
" Nothing can exceed the wickedness and folly which con- 
tinue to reign there. All sense of character, as well as of 

'Staples, Rhode Island in the Continental Congress, 566. 

*Ibid. 3 //>iJ„ 572. 

4 Letter to Col. J. Madison, Apr. I, 17S7. Gilpin, Writings of Madison, i, 2^0. 



!54 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [272 

right, is obliterated. Paper money is still their idol, though 
it is debased to eight for one." ' 

To her immediate neighbors, Rhode Island appeared 
responsible for the evils of the present and of the past. A 
writer from Salem, Massachusetts, realizing that perhaps the 
political existence of the union depended on the results of 
the convention, said : " Rhode Island has refused to cooper- 
ate in this business. From her anti-federal disposition 
nothing better could have been expected. To that state it 
is owing that the Continental impost has not taken place. 
To her may be charged the poverty of the soldiers of the 
late army, the heavy taxes of our citizens and the embar- 
rassed state of the public finances. It is however hoped 
and wished that her dissent will never more be permitted to 
defeat any federal measure. Rather let her be dropped out 
of the Union, or appropriated to the different states that 
surround her." J 

The feelings of the minority, who in shame and impotent 
wrath saw the ringer of scorn pointing from all sides, can 
hardly be described. "A Freeman," reviewing the relation 
of the state to the union, and giving voice to the sentiments 
of his party, cited the act to pay the state's quota of federal 
interest in paper, and the refusal to join in the Federal Con- 
vention, as presenting " a prospect too serious not to excite 
our attention." s " Can any palliation or excuse," said he, 
" be offered by a line of policy so inconsistent with our true 
interest, and that respect we owe to Congress and our sister 
states? . . . Does it not argue great obstinacy as well as 
ignorance of the true interest of the state to refuse to join in 
a convention recommended by Congress and approved by 
all the other states? It must be confessed that these meas- 

1 Letter to Edmund Randolph, Apr. 2, 1787. Gilpin, Madison Papers, ii, 629. 

2 American Museum, i, 290. 
''Providence Gazette, Apr. 14, 1787. 



273] RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION ^5 

ures have a direct tendency to dissolve that bond of union 
by which we confederated with our sister states, and to in- 
duce them to consider us as having derelicted the confede- 
racy, and not entitled to its assistance or protection ; or 
rather, will they not divide our territory and subject it to the 
jurisdiction of the neighboring states?" 1 

The letters of the delegates in Congress breathed a pure 
spirit of Federalism from the first. To Governor Collins 
they did not hesitate to say : " This period forms a most ser- 
ious crisis in our political existence. The avowed objects of 
this new assembly, sanctioned by general opinion and point- 
ing to the great interests of the whole Union, are too momen- 
tous not to claim the attention of the state of Rhode Island."' 

The Anti-Federalists were loud in their protestations of 
adherence to the Articles of Confederation, from whose weak- 
ness they saw power accrue to the separate states. The 
reply of the Federalists was: " How far an entire adherence 
to the Articles of Confederation may justify the policy of any 
one or two states in remaining indifferent spectators, to the 
probable events of these arrangements, we shall not presume 
to decide ; but common safety, and the relation the part 
bears to the whole, should have their due influence upon 
this occasion." -1 Imbued with these sentiments, members of 
Congress from Rhode Island most seriously recommended 
the appointment of delegates to the convention. 

The Federalists, both within and without the state, were 
agreed that morally at least, Rhode Island was bound to join 
in any measure for establishing the union more firmly. The 
Anti-Federalists, wasting few woids, relied on their professed 
consideration for the Articles of Confederation, to conceal 
any unworthy motives and justify their course. Oblivious 
of criticism and supported by the popular vote, the assembly 

1 Providence Gazelle, Apr. 14, 1787. 

' Rhode Island Archives ( MS. ) , Idlers, t?8j-8 t 6S. ■ Ibid. 



J0 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [274 

continued to "trample most sacred obligations, and defy the 
United States to arms." ' 

The proposition made at the May session to appoint dele- 
gates, was lost in the upper house by a majority of two, after 
it had passed the lower house by the same majority. 2 The 
question, revived again in the upper house at the June ses- 
sion, passed by a majority of five, but because of factional 
struggles was defeated in the lower by a majority of seven. 3 

The natural effect of such continued obstinacy was to raise 
a wave of hostile comment. Washington observed with pain 
that the state persisted in that " impolitic, unjust, and one 
might add without much impropriety, scandalous conduct 
which seems to have marked all her public councils of late.'" 
The Newport Herald, a journal recently established in sup- 
port of Federal principles, declared the object of this admin- 
istration to be the freeing the people from debt. Though an 
object commendable in itself, the continuance of the tender 
laws showed that they would not scruple as to the means em- 
ployed. There were, it was asserted, Tories still in the state 
who were only too glad to aid the Anti-Federal movement 
to serve their own ends. 5 At a celebration of Independence 
day in a certain New Jersey town twelve guns had been fired 
and twelve toasts drunk, totally ignoring the existence of the 
despised state of Rhode Island/ Indeed, public opinion ran 
so high that Lord Temple was led to write to Lord Caernar- 
von : " It is already seriously talked of, the annihilation of 
Rhode Island as a state, and to divide that territory (I mean 
the government of it) between Massachusetts and Connec- 
ticut." 7 

1 " A Friend to this State," in American Museum, iv, 320. 

a United States Chronicle, Aug. 2, 1787. 3 Ibid. 

* Letter to David Stuart, July 1, 1787. Ford, Writings of Washington, xi, 159. 

5 Providence Gazette, June 30, 1787. 6 Ibid., Aug. 4, 1787. 

7 Bancroft, Hist, of the Constitution, ii, 425. 



275] RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION ^7 

Madison, who was watching the progress of events, after- 
wards wrote : " Rhode Island was the only exception to a 
compliance with the recommendation from Annapolis, well 
known to have been swayed by an obdurate adherence to an 
advantage which her position gave her, of taxing her neigh- 
bors through their consumption of imported supplies, an 
advantage it was foreseen would be taken from her by a re- 
vision of the Articles of Confederation." ' By this statement 
the writer reveals his lack of information on the subject in 
question. From the acknowledged fact that in 1781 and 
1783 the merchants of Rhode Island had hoped by retain- 
ing the power of laying duties, to reap a benefit as the port 
of entry for the surrounding states, he concludes that now 
the opposition is from the same quarter. It is evident that 
he is not aware that the commercial leaders who were most 
powerful in the opposition to the impost were now the 
strongest advocates of union. He overlooked the fact that a 
letter from Providence had been read in the convention, on 
May twenty-eighth, from " the merchants, tradesmen, and 
others of this place deeply affected with the evils of the pres- 
ent unhappy times," ' giving it as the general opinion in Prov- 
idence, and of the well informed throughout the state, that 
the full power over commerce, domestic and foreign, should 
be given to the general government, and that the powers of 
Congress in the matter of requisitions should be made effect- 
ual. The purpose of the communication was to prevent any 
unfavorable opinion in the other states which might be pre- 
judicial to the commercial interests of Providence. The in- 
fluence and exertions of the memorialists were pledged to 
work for the adoption of the results of the convention, which 
should tend to strengthen the union, promote the commerce, 

' Gilpin, Madison Tapers, ii, 709. 

'Elliot's Debates, v, 578; (lilpin, Madison /'a/ers, iii, Aj>. 1. 



1^8 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [276 

increase the power and establish the credit of the United 
States." ' 

Accompanying that from Providence was a letter from 
General Varnum, who had just returned from Congress. He 
had found that the measures of the legislature did not rep- 
resent the real character of the state. "They are equally 
reprobated and abhorred," said he, "by gentlemen of the 
learned professions, by the whole mercantile body, and by 
most of the respectable farmers and mechanics. The majo- 
rity of the administration is composed of a licentious number 
of men, destitute of education, and many of them void of 
principle. From anarchy and confusion they derive their 
temporary consequence; and this they endeavor to prolong 
by debauching the minds of the common people, whose 
attention is wholly directed to the abolition of debts, public 
and private. With these are associated the disaffected of 
every description, particularly those who were unfriendly 
during the war. Their paper money system, founded in 
oppression and fraud, they are determined to support at 
every hazard; and rather than relinquish their favorite pur- 
suit, they trample on the most sacred obligations. ... It 
is fortunate, however, that the wealth and resources of this 
state are chiefly in the possesston of the well-affected, and 
they are entirely devoted to the public good." 2 

During all this storm of hostile criticism no official defence 
or explanation was offered until at last, in September, a 
letter was dispatched to the president of Congress in expla- 
nation of the position of the assembly. Therein it was 
asserted that they have been actuated by " that great prin- 

1 Ibid. The signers of this letter were John Brown, Joseph Nightingale, Levi 
Hall, Philip Allen, Paul Allen, Jabez Bowen, Nicholas Brown, John Jencks, Wel- 
come Arnold, William Russell, Jeremiah Olney, William Barton, and Thomas L. 
H alsey. 

'Gilpin, Madison Papers, iii, Ap. I; Updike, Rhode Island Bar, 300. 



277] RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION [59 

ciple which hath ever been the characteristic of this state, 
the love of true constitutional liberty, and the fear we have 
of making innovations on the rights and liberties of the citi- 
zens at large." ' While Rhode Island granted the power 
over import duties and the regulation of trade, the recom- 
mendation to appoint delegates to the convention had not 
been complied with because the legislature did not conceive 
it in their power to do so. By law, the delegates in Con- 
gress were chosen by the freemen, and for the assembly to 
appoint delegates to the convention when they could not 
appoint delegates in Congress was held to be inconsistent. 
It would, moreover, be improper to appoint delegates to a 
convention that might result in the dissolution of Congress, 
and the existence of a confederation without that body. 
"You will impute it, sir," the letter concludes, "to our being 
diffident of power, and an apprehension of dissolving a com- 
pact which was framed by the wisdom of men who gloried 
in being instrumental in preserving the religious and civil 
rights of a multitude of people, and an almost unbounded 
territory, that said requisition hath not been complied with ; 
and fearing that when the compact should once be broken, 
we must all be lost in a common ruin. We shall ever esteem 
it a pleasure to join with our sister states in being instru- 
mental in whatever may be advantageous to the Union, and 
add strength and permanence thereto, upon constitution- 
principles." ' 

This letter, in so far as it spoke of fear of invading liberty 
or abridging the civil or religious rights of individuals, 
strikes an old key-note. The rights, civil and religious, for 
which the fathers had struggled, and of the existence of 
which they were justly proud, seemed amply secured in the 
Articles of Confederation. The deliberate discarding of such 

1 Acts and Resolve* of the General Assembly (MS.), 1786-7, July 15, 1787. 
* Rhode Island Colonial Records, x, 258. 



!6o RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [278 

a constitution to make way for another whose terms were as 
yet unstated, appeared most dangerous to a large class. 
These individuals hesitated to resign rights which, if once 
released, the state's tiny influence might not again succeed 
in regaining. It would have strengthened the position of 
the assembly had the remainder of its argument been based 
on equally valid grounds. The inconsistencies of this line of 
reasoning were brought out in a protest entered by the depu- 
ties from Providence and Newport against this letter. 1 The 
appointment of delegates to attend conventions of the states 
had never before been held an assumption of power, even 
when they were given authority to declare independence, or 
form Articles of Confederation. The acts granting control 
of imports and of commerce proved the power of the as- 
sembly to amend the constitution without resort to popular 
vote. The Articles of Confederation themselves provided 
for amendment by the legislature. But in any case it ap- 
peared to the protestants that it would do much more honor 
to the state to join heartily with the other states in promot- 
ing this reform. In fact it was apparent to the minority 
that this argument was put forward to take the place of a 
better one, which they had not. 

The Federal Convention finished its task on the seven- 
teenth of September, 1787, and transmitted the results of its 
deliberations to Congress, recommending that it should 
afterward be submitted to a convention of delegates in each 
state, chosen by the people thereof, under recommendation 
of the legislature. Each state, having ratified, was to inform 
Congress that that body might take steps for putting the 
same in operation. 2 The constitution, with the accompany- 
ing letter, was received in Congress on September twenty- 
eighth. Thereupon it was at once resolved to transmit all 

1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, x, 259. 
* Elliot's Debates, i, 317. 



279] RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUT/ON ^i 

the papers thereon to the state legislatures, which were in 
turn to submit them to conventions in each state. 

The time of action on the constitution was influenced by 
several causes: the date when the state received the official 
notice ; the time when the legislature would be again in ses- 
sion ; the date set for the convention ; and the time consumed 
in the convention. All these opportunities for delay did in 
fact have much influence on the time of adoption. Dela- 
ware and Pennsylvania led the way early in December, fol- 
lowed by the unanimous vote of New Jersey soon after. 
Georgia did likewise on the second day of the new year. 
Connecticut, the fifth state, ratified by a vote of one hundred 
and twenty- eight to forty. In none of these states, except 
Pennsylvania, had the opposition been formidable. There, 
by the force of leaders like Wilson and McKean, the oppo- 
sition was overcome. The next state to consider the ques- 
tion was Massachusetts, whose convention met on January 
ninth, 1788, and continued in session until it ratified the 
constitution, on February sixth, by a vote of one hundred 
and eighty-seven to one hundred and sixty-eight. But with 
her ratification Massachusetts brought forward certain amend- 
ments which were recommended to Congress for adoption. 
Maryland, on April twenty-sixth, ratified without proposing 
amendments, by sixty-three to eleven. Three steps in the 
process of ratification by a state may be distinguished: 
first, action in the legislature on the question of calling a 
convention ; second, in the choice of members to attend the 
convention ; and third, in the convention on the question of 
ratification. In South Carolina an attack was made at each 
stage. Again the value of competent leaders was shown, 
and under the guidance of the Pinckneys and Rutledges 
ratification was secured by a vote of one hundred and forty- 
nine to seventy-three, on May twenty-third. New Hamp- 
shire, as the ninth state, ratified on the twenty-first of June. 



!6 2 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [ 2 8o 

Four states yet remained to be heard from. Virginia and 
New York were already considering the great measure in 
convention when that of New Hampshire closed its labors. 
In Virginia were enacted the most dramatic scenes of the 
whole series of conventions. On each side were men famous 
in the nation's history. After a session of twenty-three days 
a majority of ten was given for ratification. The last state 
to ratify before the inauguration of the new government was 
New York. Her convention assembled on June seventeenth 
and saw both Virginia and New Hampshire ratify before 
her. After a protracted struggle that state ratified on July 
twenty sixth. North Carolina came into the union on 
November twenty-first, leaving Rhode Island alone outside 
the fold. 

The new constitution, which was sent out on September 
twenty-eighth, was not long waiting attention from Rhode 
Island. No sooner had the assembly at its October session 
taken the matter into consideration than all parties knew that 
a long battle was begun. Even before the assembly met, 
Madison, reviewing the probable attitude of the states, said, 
" Rhode Island is divided ; the majority being violently 
against it. The temper of this state cannot yet be fully dis- 
cerned. A strong party is in favor of it. But they will prob- 
ably be outnumbered, if those whose numbers are not yet 
known should take the opposite side." ' The first action of the 
majority revealed two facts : that, though in a majority, they 
did not feel strong enough summarily to reject the constitu- 
tion ; and that they proposed to enter upon a long course of 
filibustering. Instead of an act calling a convention, it was 
voted that about a thousand copies of the new constitution 
should be struck off and distributed, " that the freemen may 
have an opportunity of forming their sentiments of the pro- 

1 Letter to Edmund Randolph, Oct. 21, 1787, Gilpin, Madison Papers, ii, 
649. 



2 g I ] RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION ^3 

posed constitution."' The "sentiments" so formed were to 
be communicated in instructions to their deputies before the 
February session. 

The friends of the constitution, chafing at the delay, found 
vent for their feelings in numerous appeals to the people 
through the columns of the newspapers. The letters of 
" Cincinnatus," then appearing in the New York Journal, 
furnished them with texts and an abundance of quotations. 
The majority, neither at this time nor at any other period 
during the struggle, seemed inclined to carry on a journal- 
istic war. 

Instead of following any line suggested by the few in- 
structions given to the deputies, the assembly resolved that, 
as they could not make an innovation on the constitution 
without the consent of the freemen, the proposed constitu- 
tion must be submitted to them directly in town meetings. 
This resolution passed by a vote of forty three to fifteen. 
An amendment making the vote upon the question of calling 
a convention was lost by a majority almost as great.- In 
these debates Bradford of Bristol, Marchant and Champlin of 
Newport, and Arnold and Bowen of Providence, were the 
champions of the constitution. The opposition was led by 
Hazard of Charlestown, Joslin of West Greenwich, and Corn- 
stock of East Greenwich. 

The conscience of the assembly had grown tender since 
the occasions only a year before, when they had felt no 
hesitation in depriving the citizen of some of his most 
valuable rights. In view of these events, their present con- 
sideration for personal rights is almost ludicrous. With a 
governor at heart favorable to the constitution, and an upper 
house divided, there was a much greater chance of the con- 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), 1786-7, 150. 
1 United States Chronicle, Mar. 6, 1788. 






104 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [282 

stitution being rejected by a popular vote than by the 
assembly. Of this fact the opposition were well aware. 

During the month that intervened before the town meet- 
ings, it was decided by the minority to show their disap- 
proval of this unusual proceeding by staying away from the 
polls. On March twenty-fourth, the day appointed for the 
town meetings, in Bristol, Little Compton, Tiverton, and 
Hopkinton alone was there any contest. In the two former 
towns the federal party were in a slight majority. Provi- 
dence held closely to the agreement. Not a single vote 
was cast in its favor, and there was but one against it. 
Newport cast but one vote for the constitution. The total 
vote was two hundred and thirty-seven for, and two thousand 
seven hundred and eight against. 1 This result among a 
population of over six thousand freemen could scarcely be 
taken as displaying the true sentiment of the community. 

Instead of votes, the towns of Providence and Newport 
gave instructions in favor of calling a convention. 8 Fifty of 
the freemen of Bristol petitioned the assembly for the same 
end.* At an adjourned meeting on March twenty-sixth, the 
town of Providence adopted a petition to the assembly, in 
which five of her most prominent citizens presented the 
arguments in favor of a convention. 4 In view of the fact that 
an assembly of the whole people was impracticable, they 
deemed that the representative principle was sufficiently well 
established to warrant its use at this time. For many reasons 
the means taken by the assembly for taking the sense of the 
people was inadequate. The commercial and country towns 

1 Papers Relating to the Adoption of the Constitution {MS.), 16-37. 

s Providence Town Meeting Records (MS.), vii, 118. 

3 Papers Relating to the Adoption of the Constitution (MS.), 109. 

4 Providence Town Meeting Records (MS.), vii, 120. This committee was 
composed of David Howell, John I. Clark, Thomas Arnold, Theodore Foster, and 
Benjamin Bourne. 



283] RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION 165 

had had no opportunity to discuss the question together, and 
become informed of the needs of the various sections of the 
state, as they might in a convention. Likewise conditions in 
the other states must be taken into account to determine how 
far it was advisable to sacrifice state interest to the common 
welfare. ^Though state rights must be preserved, other fac- 
tors must be taken into consideration. There were, more- 
over, many documents which would throw light on the situ- 
ation which, though impossible to present to the freemen, 
would influence the action of a convention. The very fact 
that Congress had recommended and the other states had 
taken affirmative action made it the more fitting that Rhode 
Island should acquiesce. The possibility of following the 
example of Massachusetts and Virginia in proposing amend- 
ments was suggested for her. Now that the state had had 
voice in framing the constitution, it seemed a double hard- 
ship for the freemen to deny them the privilege of proposing 
amendments to the constitution to which she must finally 
accede. Said the petitioners, "Have not the freemen of our 
sister states a right to claim this service at our hands, and 
have not the freemen of this state a right to demand it? 
This state, however sovereign and independent, cannot exist 
without a connection with her sister states." ' 

A memorandum containing eleven amendments which was 
brought to light after the town meeting in Providence, prob- 
ably expressed the ideas of those who spoke of the desir- 
ability of amendments. These propositions in connection 
with subsequent events are of interest. They were, that lib- 
ertv of the press and of conscience should be secured ; that 
no standing army should be kept in time of peace; that the 
militia should not be called to serve outside the state except 
in an emergency ; that appropriations should be for one year 

1 Providence Town Meeting Records {MS.), vii, 120; (ni ted States Chronicle, 
Apr. io, 1 7^S ; Providence Gazette, Apr. 12, 17S8. 



1 66 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [284 

only; that the terms of senators should not be more than 
two years, and no direct tax should be levied except after a 
requisition had been made on the states. The federal judic- 
iary should have no jurisdiction in minor cases between citi- 
zens of different states, nor should any one be tried for an 
infamous crime except on a presentment of a grand jury, 
and all questions of fact should be decided by a jury. Fin- 
ally, all powers not expressly delegated should be withheld 
from the general government. 1 

The position of the Federal party may, from their instruc- 
tions and public writings, be comprehended with tolerable 
accuracy. The opposition was kept busy in counteracting 
the moral force exerted by the ratifications of the other states. 
Every argument was employed in their cause. One of the 
few put in print appeared in the Gazette of March fifteenth, 
characterizing the new constitution as a scheme to lord it 
over the common people. A convention should be avoided, 
because artful men, lawyers and ministers, might win over 
the most steadfast opponents.' The motion was again re- 
newed for a convention, on the last day of March, but was 
defeated by a majority of twenty-seven.' The result of the 
popular vote having proved as anticipated, it was reported 
to Congress under date of April fifth. 4 The fact that the 
manner of consideration had been peculiar, it was hoped 
would not give offense, for it was based on the truly demo- 
cratic principle that all government emanates from the will 
of the whole people. Granting the present form of govern- 
ment to be inadequate, they declared the state willing to 
acquiesce in any amendments "which would tend to regulate 
commerce, and impose duties and excise, whereby congress 
might establish funds for discharging the public debt." 5 So 

1 Providence Gazette, Mar. 29, 1788. 2 Ibid., Mar. 15, 17S8. 

* L'nited States Chronicle, Apr. 10, 1788. 
'Ibid. "Ibid. 



285] RHODE ISl AXD A.XD THE CONSTITUTION \fy-j 

much, which had long since been pronounced insufficient, 
Rhode Island would grant, but nothing more. To all intents 
and purposes this was a flat refusal. 

The approach of the annual election saw a hot canvass of 
the state by both sides. A division on local issues in the 
Federal party gave the election, by a large majority, to the 
Anti Federalists. 

Early in the summer came the news that New Hampshire 
had ratified the constitution. The Federalists were both 
delighted and encouraged. Bells rang, cannon were fired, 
the schools were given a holiday, and the students of Brown 
University marched in procession about the college. The 
town of Providence showed itself truly Federal. Nowhere in 
the whole country was more enthusiasm displayed than in 
that community in preparing to celebrate the event. It was 
decided to hold the celebration in connection with that of 
Independence Day. 1 The interest in this event arises no 
more from its expression of federal sentiments, than from 
being the only occasion of the resort to armed violence by 
the opponents of the constitution in Rhode Island. 

Extensive preparations were made for orations, a parade, 
and an ox-roast, to which the state officers and the people 
generally were invited. On the festal morning, whose pass- 
ing hours were marked by discharges of artillery, an oration 
was delivered by the Rev. Dr. Hitchcock in the First Baptist 
church. A procession then marched to Federal Hill, where 
an ox had been roasted whole, and a table spread a thousand 
feet in length. The festivities were, however, destined to 
receive a check from an unexpected quarter. Toward the 
evening of the previous day an assemblage of men from the 
country towns, particularly of Providence count}', had gath- 
ered on the outskirts of the town with the avowed purpose 
of preventing the celebration, which they insisted was an in- 
1 United States Chronicle, June 20, 1788. 



!68 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UN/0 A [_ 2 86 

suit to the majority of the people and to the legislature. 
Two companies were called out to protect the place. At the 
request of a committee of the town, a conference was held 
on the morning of the fourth, at which the townsmen, after a 
vigorous protest, agreed that the festivities should not be 
held in honor of the ratification of the constitution, but in 
commemoration of Independence Day. Thirteen cannon 
were to be fired and thirteen toasts drunk. A toast to "Nine 
States," was changed to "The Day." With these changes 
the invaders allowed the celebration to proceed. 1 

The original purpose of the mob appears to have been to 
seize the feast, as the countrymen were advised not to bring 
rations with them. Some expected that the governor or 
deputy governor would take command on their arrival. 
Many of those who, stirred by the representations of dema- 
gogues, were induced to join a movement led by judges 
and legislators, returned in disgust to their homes, while 
others made the best of the situation and joined in the fes- 
tivities. The actual resort to violence was thus averted by 
compromise, never again to be threatened by the Anti- 
Federalists during the struggle. 

Rejoicings were not confined to the chief towns, but cele- 
brations, including orations and feasting, were held elsewhere, 
notably in East Greenwich and Wickford. At the former 
place, among the sentiments toasted at the banquet were 
" Independence," " Federalism," " The Federal Pillars," " The 
Supreme Judiciary," and " The Newport Herald!' At Wick- 

1 Providence Gazette, July 5 and 12, 1788; United States Chronicle, July 3 and 
10, 1788. 

The town's committee was composed of Jabez Bowen, John I. Clark, Wel- 
come Arnold, David Howell, Benjamin Bourne, Zephaniah Andrews, and John 
Mason. That representing the country consisted of William West, a Judge of 
the Superior Court, Capt. Andrew Waterman and John Sayles, Assemblymen from 
Smithfield, Abraham Matthewson, a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, John 
Wtstcott, deputy from Foster, and Peleg Fiske and James Aldrich, deputies from 
Scituate. 



287] RHODE ISLAXD AND THE CONSTITUTION f6g 

ford tributes were paid to "The Ten States," "The Three 
We Hope Will Join," "All Promoters of Union," and "Har- 
mony between City and Country." Within the month, the 
news that New York had ratified set the bells ringing again. 
The fondness for symbolic representation found expression 
in Providence in the display of eleven flags flying from Wey- 
bosset bridge, representing the states which had ratified. A 
flag upon a staff inclined thirty degrees, with the accom- 
panying motto, " It will rise," represented North Carolina, 
while a bare pole inclined forty-five degrees bore the legend, 
"Rhode Island in Hopes."' 

The new constitution was now assured of a trial, but 
Rhode Island promised to be absent from that trial. To a 
large number the gravity of the situation was apparent. The 
day when Rhode Island had been invited to join in revising 
the constitution was past, and she was left to take it as she 
found it, or not at all. But should she not accept the con- 
stitution at all, her position without the prospect of a foreign 
alliance, in her disorganized financial condition, was one to 
inspire alarm in the minds of thinking men." It was plainly 
pointed out that the aid from England, on which some relied, 
would only be lent with a view to the destruction of the 
state and the ruin of the American commonwealths. 3 

The October session of the legislature witnessed a third 
fruitless effort to call a convention. 4 The ratification of New- 
York had only been secured by a compromise which pro- 
vided that a circular letter be sent to the states calling for a 
convention to consider the amendments offered by the states. 
Such a proposal might be expected to receive the heart)' 
support of Anti-Federalists everywhere. In submitting the 

1 Providence Gazette, Aug. 2, 1 7SS; United States Chronicle, July 31, 17S8. 

x Providence Gazette, Aug. 2, 1788. 

*lUd\, Oct iS. 17S8. 

4 Staples, Rhode Island in the Continental Congress, C18. 



YjO RHODE ISLAND A ND THE [/.WON [ 2 88 

New York letter to the towns for consideration, the same 
assembly that had refused to call a convention admitted that 
" the citizens of Rhode Island conceive it to be absolutely 
necessary to be connected with the other states, if it can be 
done on the principles of good government." ' 

At their meeting in December the assembly found that 
but eight towns favored the New York proposition for a con- 
vention, and others declined to do aught but adhere strictly 
to the Articles of Confederation. 2 Providence remained firm 
in her demand for a convention, 1 but was doomed to see the 
measure defeated for a fourth time.* The fifth defeat was in 
March, on the eve of the inauguration of the new federal 
government, by a vote of thirty-seven to nineteen. 5 

A new phase of the Rhode Island question now appeared. 
That state, in spite of all unpleasant relations, had hitherto 
been united to the other states by the bonds of the Confeder- 
ation, a phantom to which Rhode Island clung even until the 
election of delegates to Congress after the new government 
had been inaugurated. Now the federal government was in 
operation, and Rhode Island stood "perfectly alone, uncon- 
nected with any state or sovereignty on earth." 6 The mer- 
cantile and other classes whose mode of life brought them in 
contact with people of other states, were not slow to realize 
the importance of the change. They saw their commerce 
deprived of the protection of the United States, and shorn of 
the benefits of her commercial treaties, languishing under 
the heavy duties laid on it alike by the United States and 
Europe. The busy ports which had lately been crowded 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly {MS.), iySS-g, 57. 

'' I'nited States Chronicle, Dec. 8, 1788. 

1 Providence Town Meeting Records, vii,i39. 

'btaples, Rhode Island in the Continental Congress, 618. 

5 United States Chronicl', Mar. 19, 1789. 

6 Providence Town Meeting Records {MS.), vii, 141. 



289] RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION \-j\ 

with shipping, would henceforth give shelter to only a few 
fishermen. Should the legislature persist in its course, the 
freemen declared themselves fully persuaded that some of 
their number would apply to Congress that its protection be 
extended to their trade and navigation under such discrimi- 
nations as it might impose. 1 With credit between man and 
man destroyed, and the most solemn obligations openly vio- 
lated, nothing was to be anticipated but retaliatory legisla- 
tion, which would cut off Rhode Island's commerce by land 
and sea. 2 

The masses of the people, particularly in the agricultural 
communities, were naturally slow in grasping the full signi- 
ficance of the events taking place at the seat of the federal 
government. The result of the annual election gave little 
indication of a change of views. No sooner had the national 
House of Representatives organized than the apprehensions 
of Rhode Island were realized by the introduction of a 
motion leading to the formulation of a revenue system. 5 
The debate was long, as the importance of the subject 
demanded. In view of this measure Providence, besides in- 
structing her own deputies, presented to the legislature a 
petition signed by fully five hundred citizens, portraying the 
evils from which they were suffering, and those which were 
anticipated.' The only response was a sixth defeat of the 
proposition for a convention, but by a somewhat smaller 
majority. 5 

The fears of the assembly were, however, sufficiently 
aroused to lead them to cast an anchor to windward in the 
form of an embargo upon the exportation of grain, flour and 

1 Providence Town Meeting Records (.J/.S. ), vii, 140 I. 

1 Ibid., vii, 146. 

3 Annals of Congress, i, 106. 

* t niled Mates Chronicle, June 25, 1789. 

•Ibid., June 18, : 



iy 2 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [290 

meal for a limited time, until the result of the deliberations 
of Congress should become known. 1 Such fears were not 
assuaged by the pens of those who, like a correspondent of 
the Providence Gazette, declared that Rhode Island would 
" remain to the other states and to the world at large, a 
spectacle of reproach and derision." ' 2 Said that writer: "In 
the ports of the Union we shall be considered as foreigners, 
and our commerce subjected to like duties with them." 3 

The passage of an impost law and the perfection of a 
system of revenue collection brought with it a visible weak- 
ening of the majority in Rhode Island. Hoping to avert 
discriminating legislation, the assembly had, at its May 
session, passed an impost law imposing on goods imported 
into the state the same duties that Congress might there- 
after lay upon imports into the Union. The act was to take 
effect at the same time as that passed by Congress, and was 
in general to be the exact counterpart of that act.' 1 This 
was followed in September by a re-enactment of the revenue 
law lately passed by Congress. 5 

The debate in Congress which resulted in the revenue act 
of July fourth, and the act for the collection of the same of 
July thirty-first, continued, from the eighth of April, seven 
weeks. The position of North Carolina and Rhode Island 
in relation to a duty on foreign importations was a disputed 
question. To obviate further difficulties, Benson of New 
York, on June fifth, presented a resolution that Congress 
"declare it to be their most earnest desire" that Rhode 
Island call a convention. 6 On the advisability of this step 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), 1788-g, 98. 

2 Providence Gazette, Aug. I, 1789. 3 Ibid. 
4 Rhode Island (. olonial Records, x, 331. 

4 Annals of Congress, ii, 2183; Rhode Island Colonial Records, x, 340; United 
Stales Chronicle, Sept. 24, 1789. 
6 Annals of Congress, i, 437. 



29 [] RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION ^3 

opinion differed. All were agreed that Rhode Island ought 
to call a convention, but the propriety of the request was 
questioned. The debate was earnest on both sides. It was 
argued that from Rhode Island's absence from the federal 
convention, she stood in a different position from North 
Carolina. The revenue act as passed by Congress revealed 
a confidence that both states would soon be within the 
Union, and placed both alike in a sort of intermediate posi- 
tion. As Congress had no authority to lay duties at the 
ports of those states, it was enacted that all goods imported 
thence, not the product thereof, should be subjected to the 
same conditions as if imported from other foreign ports. 
But by the silence of the act in respect to domestic pro- 
ducts, they were admitted free.' 

Sensible of the fearful disadvantage at which they were 
placed, and perceiving in the result of the election of depu- 
ties to the October session of the assembly signs of a coming 
change, the town of Providence memorialized Congress on 
their condition. Their perception of the necessity of union 
with the other states led them to ask that they and the other 
seaport towns might not be made to suffer for conduct for 
which they were not responsible.' 

The assembly, too, reading the signs of the times, sent its 
first flag of truce as a step toward a commercial union. The 
hope was expressed that, though Rhode Island had not seen 
her way clear consistently with her principles to unite with 
the other states, their common sufferings in the past would 
always form a bond of union between them and the other 
states. Though the new government might avoid present 
difficulties, it might lead to future mischiefs. The people of 
Rhode Island were attached to democratic government, but 
in this new constitution there was perceived an approach 

1 Annals of Congress, ii, 2213. 

''■ Providence 'J own Meeting Records {MS.}, vii, 156. 



!74 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION \?92 

toward the evils from which they had lately been freed. 
Further, they said, "We are sensible of the extremes to 
which democratical government is sometimes liable, some- 
thing of which we have lately experienced, but we esteem 
them temporary and partial evils, compared with the loss of 
liberty and the rights of a free people." ' 

The assembly asserted that they were awaiting the day 
when they might again be united with the other states under 
a constitution which might not be liable to alteration by nine 
of the thirteen states. It was hoped that in the meantime 
they would not be treated as foreigners, but that trade might 
be kept free and open between them. 2 

This letter betrays a change of attitude tending towards 
conciliation. No longer is a continued separation spoken of 
as desirable. Their argument is now based on the one 
strong ground of fear of the subversion of the liberties of so 
small a state. Congress, only too glad to observe signs of a 
change which might extricate them from an awkward posi- 
tion, viewed the communication with favor. Before the 
letter from the assembly reached New York an act was 
passed suspending the impost law in favor of Rhode Island. 
By this law all privileges and advantages enjoyed by ships 
of the United States were extended to those of Rhode Island 
and North Carolina, until the fifteenth of January, 1790. 
Exception was made in the case of rum, loaf sugar, and 
chocolate made in those states." At the same time the 
assembly continued to assert that it was vested by the free- 
men with power simply to administer the existing constitu- 
tion, while the power to change the frame of government 
rested in the freemen alone. Owing to "grievous com- 
plaints" that the constitution had not been adopted, the 
freemen were called upon to instruct their deputies, who 

1 United States Chronicle, Oct. I, 1789; Rhode Island Colonial Records, x, 356. 
3 Ibid. 3 Annals of Congress, ii, 2235. 



293] RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION 175 

were to meet at the session on the last Monday in October.' 
According to the call, town meetings were held on the nine- 
teenth of that month. The town of Providence, disgusted at 
the farcial proceedings of the assembly, left its delegates free 
to act as they saw fit.^ Whatever instructions were given by 
the other towns were of no effect, and a seventh attempt to 
call a convention failed like its predecessors/' 

Just here, as at so many points in the struggle, it was the 
lack of competent leaders among the Federalists which left 
Rhode I.-land outside the pale within which the efforts of 
most skillful leaders had barely succeeded in bringing some 
of the other states. Several worthy and prominent men 
among the Federalists were powers in their own towns, but 
not one of them was able to extend his influence further. 
General Varnum, the one man in whom were contained the 
elements of a leader, had been called to hold a post under 
the Union in the Northwest Territory, and was no longer 
available. 

Before the eleventh of January, to which the assembly 
stood adjourned, the situation had materially changed. 
North Carolina ratified the constitution on the twenty-first 
of November, leaving Rhode Island alone outside the Union. 4 
Congress had been busy preparing the amendments to the 
constitution, so generally demanded by the states. The re- 
sults of their deliberations, and the resolutions of Congress 
thereon, were transmitted, on October second, to the gov- 
ernors of the various states for ratification:' Copies of these 
amendments were submitted to the freemen in town mcet- 

' Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), ijSS-g, ic8. 

' Providence Town Meeting Records (J/.V.), vii, 160. 

5 Providence Gazette, Oct. 31, 1789; L mteJ States Chronicle, Nov. 5, 17S9. 

*IjOWS of North Carolina, i, 605. 

» Rhode Island Archives (.i.'.v.i. Letters 17SS-/S00, i'... 



!76 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [294 

ings, on the third Monday in October. 1 The necessary time 
had now elapsed for them to become thoroughly understood. 
Of the amendments proposed, that securing freedom from an 
established church, and freedom of worship, as well as of 
speech and of the press, especially commended itself to the 
people of Rhode Island. Though not often finding expres- 
sion during this period, there was a fear that through south- 
ern influence Episcopacy might be forced upon the Union. 
The confirmation of the right of a judicial trial in the state, 
by a jury of the vicinage, likewise removed a fancied danger. 
The provision for the reservation to the states and to the 
people of all powers not expressly delegated to the United 
States could not but gratify the advocates of state rights. 

A knowledge that the suspension of the revenue laws of 
the United States in favor of Rhode Island was about to ex- 
pire, leaving her on the footing of a foreign state, tended to 
stimulate the understanding of the people. Should the as- 
sembly still refuse a convention, small favor could be ex- 
pected from Congress. 

The assembly convened as appointed, and after four days 
spent in transacting routine business, the house took up a 
motion made by Benjamin Bourne of Providence, for calling 
a convention. This was debated until late in the day, when 
it was carried by a vote of thirty-four to twenty-nine. 2 On 
the transmission of the bill to the senate, it was laid on the 
table until the next (Saturday) morning. In the meantime 
the senate had passed a bill placing the question of calling a 
convention before the freemen. 3 This was defeated by a 
majority of fourteen in the house. The senate, after con- 
sidering all day the house bill, reached a vote of non- 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly {MS.), 1788-go, 121. 

2 United States Chronicle, Jan. 21, 1 790. 

3 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly {MS.), 1788-go, 1 50; United 
States Chronicle, Jan. 21, 1790. 



2Q5] RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION l yy 

concurrence late on Saturday evening. Four senators 
voted to concur, while the same number with the deputy- 
governor were in opposition. The excitement was intense. 
Unwilling to wait until Monday, the assembly adjourned to 
meet on Sunday morning. Early in the day Marchant, of 
Newport, introduced in the house a bill similar to that intro- 
duced in the house by Bourne, and secured for his measure 
a majority of twenty-one. The morning's deliberations in 
the senate had been upon a bill introduced by Deputy- 
Governor Owen, in substance like the one already passed by 
that body, with the addition of a preamble. No better ex- 
pression is to be found of the arguments of those zealous 
opponents of the constitution who were now forced to a 
convention, provided it be demanded by the freemen. They 
acknowledged that, as the constitution was already in opera- 
tion in twelve states, the citizens of Rhode Island, being 
treated as foreigners, would " suffer great and manifold in- 
conveniences and discouragement in their trade and com- 
merce, and otherwise." ' Hence it became the interest and 
duty of that state " to take the most prudent measures for 
acceding to the union of the said twelve states."' Feeling 
that to their constituencies some explanation of their change 
of attitude was necessary, the preamble concludes : " This 
general assembly are sensible that the accession of the state 
of North Carolina to the said union, and the grievous opera- 
tion of the federal government on the interest of many citi- 
zens of this state since the last measure taken by this 
general assembly on the subject, have presented the same 
to cur view and consideration in a very different attitude 
from that in which it then appeared."' Thus did they at- 
tempt to harmonize theory with present conditions. The 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly {MS.), fjSS-qo, 15 1. 
' Ibid. ■ Ibid, 



j^S RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [296 

measure was doomed to a fate in the house similar to that 
of its predecessor. 

The Marchant bill, coming to the senate, found the per- 
sonnel of that body somewhat changed. One of the sena- 
tors who had voted in the negative on the Bourne bill, so 
runs the story, was a preacher and, objecting to the Sunday 
session, withdrew to minister to his congregation. When it 
came to a vote, four senators voted in the affirmative, 
while three senators and the deputy-governor voted 
against it. It now devolved upon the governor to give the 
casting vote. Though elected and re-elected by the anti- 
federal party, Governor Coll ns had been a conservative in 
the party, and had more than once betrayed federalistic 
sympathies. Now, realizing the gravity of the situation, he 
cast his vote in the affirmative, and the first campaign was 
won. The freemen were summoned to meet in their town 
meetings on the ninth of February to elect delegates to a 
state convention to be held on the first day of March, at 
South Kingstown. 1 During the debate on Sunday the 
churches had been almost deserted by the people, who 
hovered about the state house. When the vote was an- 
nounced a shout of joy arose, and that Sunday became one 
of general rejoicing. The people felt that the dawn of 
happier times was at hand.' 

No time was lost by the assembly in announcing their 
action to the president, with a request for a further suspen- 
sion of the revenue laws, as there was reason to hope that 
the constitution would soon be ratified.' By act of February 

1 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), 1788-90, 157; Providence 
Gazette, Jan. 23, 1790. 

1 Providence Gazette, Jan. 23, 1 790. 

8 Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly (MS.), 1788-go, 159; United 
States Chronicle, Jan. 21, 1790. 



297] RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION 179 

eighth, the act suspending the revenue law was revived, to 
remain in force until the first of the following April. 1 

In the process of adopting the constitution by the different 
states, three stages have been noted. In no other state had 
the struggle assumed alarming proportions in the first stage. 
Even in Virginia, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and New 
York, where some opposition was encountered at this stage, 
the struggle was soon past. The smallest of the thirteen had, 
however, for more than two years refused to call a convention. 

No sooner was the call issued than the combatants pre- 
pared for the second contest. This was limited by the action 
of the assembly to twenty-two days. The Federalists again 
made use of their favorite means of creating a sentiment in 
their favor. In the public press they portrayed the effects 
of a rejection of the constitution. As a result of the total 
estrangement of the state from the Union, which must 
follow rejection, the Gazette pictured Narragansett Bay for- 
saken by traders, the wharves and warehouses silent and 
deserted, and the people suffering for the lack of those 
necessities which could only be obtained through free trade 
with the United States. The possibility of coercion even 
was hinted at." 

In the first stage of the struggle the opposition had relied 
but little upon the press, trusting rather to personal work or 
to conventions. Accordingly a spirited agitation in the bar- 
rooms of country taverns was supplemented by a convention 
of freemen of Providence, Kent, and Washington counties, 
held at East Greenwich, on February second. The discus- 
sion of plans for concerted action resulted in an address to 
the freemen of the state. They were recommended to choose 
such delegates to the convention "as from a known and tried 
firmness, and integrity and attachment to the liberty and 

1 Annals of Congress, ii, 2259. 

1 l'rovtdence Gazette, Feb. 27, 1790. 



l8o RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [298 

indefeasible rights of this people . . . will be cautious and 
careful of bartering them to the politics of any people or 
nation on earth." ' 

The language of this address has been taken as corrobor- 
ating the charge that the vote of the assembly was secured 
by corruption. It has been believed, though there seems to 
be no evidence to prove the charge, that the Federalists, 
becoming alarmed at the prospect before them, saw a profit- 
able investment in the purchase of votes for a convention. 
An explanation equally probable, and one more creditable 
to the parties involved, is furnished by one of those whose 
opinions had undergone a change. Though the causes that 
had heretofore warranted rejection were still powerful, yet 
that the state should exist alone was impossible. In this 
dilemma the citizens were admonished to choose delegates 
to the convention who would propose amendments to the 
constitution. 2 

Without the state no strong assurance was felt that Rhode 
Island would ratify at once, though friends of the Union were 
rejoiced that one step had been taken. 3 The result of the 
election of delegates was a strong majority against ratifica- 
tion. Richmond and Portsmouth alone deemed it necessary 
to instruct their delegates. The former, an inland town, little 
affected by commercial depression, directed that the consti- 
tution be not adopted, but that it be considered, amendments 
proposed, and an adjournment taken until a future day, that 
there might be time to observe the workings of the new 
government. 4 Portsmouth, more susceptible to commercial 
disorders, whose symptoms were a languishing trade and 

1 Papers Relating to the Adoption of Ike Constitution (AIS.), 97. 
1 United Sta'es Chronicle, Feb. 4, 179c. 

* Letter, Caleb Strong to Theodore Foster, Feb. 28, 1790. Foster Correspond- 
ence {MS.). 

4 Papers Relating to the Adoption of the Constitution, 99. 



299] RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION 181 

laid-up vessels, demanded adoption at the earliest possible 
moment. Should adjournment be proposed, no date later 
than April first should be considered.' 

The convention met on the first day ot March, 1790, in 
the old state house in South Kingstown. Of the seventy 
delegates there assembled, forty-two were members of the 
assembly ; four had held the office of deptuy-governor, and 
five had been elected to the Continental Congress. Jabez 
Bowen of Providence, and Henry Marchant of Newport, led 
the Federalists. As leader of the opposing party, His 
Honor, the deputy-governor, was ably assisted by Jonathan 
J. Hazard, of South Kingstown, whose change of attitude on 
the final vote was to sound his political knell. There were 
also present William Bradford of Bristol, speaker of the 
House of Deputies, and a member of the Hartford Conven- 
tion of 1780; Col. William Barton, the captor of General 
Prescott ; Joseph Staunton, one of Rhode Island's first 
senators in Congress, and Benjamin Bourne, the state's first 
representative in Congress. As chairman, the convention 
chose Deputy-Governor Owen. Daniel Updike was made 
secretary.' 

After two days occupied with preliminaries and general 
discussions, the opposition entered on a policy of procrasti- 
nation. Col. Sayles, of Smithficld, moved that a committee 
be appointed to draft a bill of rights and amendments, and 
that the convention adjourn to a future day/ this motion 
was tabled, and a general discussion of the constitution, 
section by section, followed. The manner of raising direct 

1 Tapers Relating to the Adoption of the Constitution, 95. 

1 Minutes of the Convention. The minutes of the Convention were for many 
years lost, but were found among the effects uf Daniel U|)ciike and deposited in 
the state arcLives. 'Ihe minute hook is in a volume letti rod "Tapers Relating to 
the Adoption of the c onstttution of the Untied Stales." 'Ihe bo>>k is unpaged. 

' Minutes oj the Convention ; Tr evidence Gazette, Mar. 6, 1790. 



!82 RHODE ISLAXD AND THE UNION fj 00 

taxes first met with objection as bearing unequally on the 
towns. The Anti-Federalists, when they demurred at the 
part taken by the executive in legislation, were shown the 
precedent afforded by Massachusetts. This was effective, 
and no further question was raised until the ninth section of 
the first article was reached. Here the clause relating to the 
importation of slaves stirred the anti-slavery sentiment of a 
party led by Bradford of Bristol, and Comstock of East 
Greenwich. In favor of the section as it stood were Bourne, 
Hazard, and Champlin, who supported it as the best compro- 
mise to be obtained. Hazard disliked to antagonize the 
southern states, for said he : " We shall have need of assist- 
ance, to have our amendments acceded to." ' Prolonged 
discussion led to the reference of the question to a com- 
mittee. 

No serious objection was again encountered until the fifth 
article was reached. The assurance herein contained of the 
continuance of equal representation in the senate was hailed 
with joy. Whatever else she had been, Rhode Island had 
been a steadfast advocate of state rights. Those holding 
the balance of power had consented to a convention only at 
the prospect of proposing amendments. But, by the pro- 
visions of the constitution, three-fourths of the states might 
impose upon the remainder any amendment they wished. 
The only reply of the Federalists was that in amendment 
Rhode Island would have an equal voice with the other 
states. The views of the convention having been brought 
out by general discussion, a committee of two from each 
county was appointed to draft amendments. 2 

On Friday, March fifth, the committee reported a bill of 
rights containing eighteen sections, and with it an equal 
number of amendments. After debate, two of che latter 

1 Minutes of the Convention. 

2 Ibid.; Providence Gazette, Mar. 6, 1790. 



301 1 RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION 183 

were rejected.' The first provided that Congress should not 
have power to appoint su°h officers as had been heretofore 
appointed by the state. The second, a proposition to ap- 
portion direct taxes according to valuation, was declared as 
unsatisfactory as the existing arrangement. The debate 
continued until the afternoon of the next day, when Mar- 
chant moved that the constitution be adopted, and that the 
bill of rights and amendments be transmitted to Congress 
with the recommendation that they be adopted. The Anti- 
Federalists foresaw that, should this be carried, their amend- 
ments would be tabled indefinitely. To defeat the motion 
it was moved to adjourn, and carried by a majority of 
thirteen. The Federalists made an effort to limit the time 
of adjournment to the last Monday in March, but were over- 
ruled by a majority who selected Ma; twenty-fourth as the 
day and Newport as the place of meeting." Before adjourn- 
ment it was voted to submit the bill of rights and the 
amendments to the freemen at the election on April twenty- 
first. 

The adjournment was the work of the Anti Federal party. 
Though possessing a majority against adoption without 
amendments, they dared not risk a trial of strength when 
some might rely on future amendments. The date fixed 
upon for the adjourned session not only put off the evil day 
of ratification, but made possible a surer victory for the ene- 
mies of the constitution, after the victory which they hoped 
to gain at the annual election. 

No sooner had the delegates returned to their homes than 
the excitement of an election waxed strong. At a meeting 
of the Federalists at Providence, a committee was appointed 
to unite with friends in Newport to secure a coalition in each 

1 Providence Gazette, Mar. 13, 1790. 

1 Minutes of Uie Convention; Providence Cazttte, Mar. 13, 1790. 



t S4 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [302 

town." A letter was sent to Arthur Fenner, a leader of the 
opposite party, but who was thought to be less influenced by 
partisan prejudice than many of his party, asking him to 
accept the nomination for governor on a coalition ticket. ' 
The Federalists proposed to nominate the deputy-governor 
from their own party, while the assistants were to be divided 
between the two parties. 3 Fenner in reply hesitated to com- 
mit himself, and questioned the propriety of consulting him 
in the matter before the freemen of the state had signified a 
desire in the matter. 4 

The conventions of both parties met on the same day, the 
sixth of April. The majority or Anti-Federal convention, 
dominated by deputy-governor Owen, which met at South 
Kingstown, nominated a "straight" ticket. Arthur Fenner 
was the candidate for governor, Samuel J. Potter for deputy- 
governor, and six of the present assistants were candidates 
for re-election. - '' Daniel Owen was the first choice as candi- 
date for governor, and it was only after his refusal of the 
nomination that Fenner was selected. The Federalists, in 
their convention at East Greenwich, to which all friends of 
coalition were invited, called down on their heads the invec- 
tives of their opponents by nominating a "mixed" ticket, 
under the caption, " Coalition or Federal Prox." At the 
head of the ticket appeared the names of Fenner and Potter. 
Four of the candidates of the Anti-Federalists found a place 
on this ticket. The promoters of this coalition, like every 
body of citizens who attempt to break down party lines in 

1 Providence Gazette, Apr. 3, 1790; United States Chronicle, Apr. I, 1790. 

1 Providence Gazette, Mar. 27, 179c. The committee consisted of Geo. Champ- 
lin, Henry Marchant, Geo. Gibbs, James Robinson, Isaac Ser.ter, John Brown, 
Welcome Arnold, David Howell, Zephaniah Andrews, and Jabez Bowen. 

3 Ibid. * Ibid. 

5 Providence Gazette, Apr. 10, 1790; United States Chronicle, Apr. 8, 1790. 

6 Providence Gazette, Apr. 10, 1790. 



303] RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION ^5 

the interests of good government, were doomed to call forth 
anathemas from those bound by the shackles of party. The 
leaders were accused of attempting by a trick to gain control 
of the state in the interests of the mercantile party.' The 
Federalists maintained that though the country was in the 
majority, yet the welfare of that portion of the community 
was so dependent on the prosperity of the towns that their 
true interests could not be antagonistic* Party lines were 
sharply drawn, and rumors of corruption on either side were 
afloat. 

With the twenty-first of April came the election and a 
complete victory for the Anti-Federalists. Jubilation lighted 
the country, but the towns were dark in mourning. Though 
this election did not alter the composition of the convention, 
it showed all too plainly the temper of the masses. 

Though separated from her sisters, Rhode Island could 
not be totally oblivious of what was passing within the 
Union. However right the majority in that state might have 
been in their position, it was more than could be expected 
of human nature that the Union should not enter a vigorous 
protest against separation. The faint mutterings of the ap- 
proaching storm had long been audible to the attentive ear. 
Owingto herattitude toward the imposts of 1 78 1 and 1783,3s 
well as by her paper money policy, the other states were disin- 
clined to await with patience Rhode Island's accession to the 
Union. Coercion was early hinted at from various quarters. 
Against the paper money legislation Connecticut had retali- 
ated by excluding citizens of Rhode Island from her courts.' 
In the midst of the paper money disorders, coercion and 
political annihilation were suggested. " A Landholder," in 
the Chronicle, said : "The singular system of policy adopted 

1 United States Chronicle, Apr. 15, 1790. 
x Providence Gazette, Apr. 17, 1790. 
l Ibid.,Ycb. 28, 1789. 



lS6 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [304 

by your state no longer excites either the surprise or indig- 
nation of mankind. There are certain extremes of iniquity 
which are beheld with patience from a fixed conviction that 
the transgressor is inveterate. ... If you will not hear your 
own groans, nor feel the pangs of your own torture, it must 
continue until removed by a political annihilation." 1 

When, in the debate on the bill for the collection of the 
revenue, Benson of New York moved to go into the com- 
mittee of the whole to consider a resolution declaring the 
wish of Congress that Rhode Island ratify the constitution, 
the whole question of the relation of that state to the Union 
was opened.'* The opposition to the resolution was led by 
Page of Virginia, who took the ground that in no way could 
the worth of the constitution be show n more effectively than by 
leaving Rhode Island to act freely. Were he a Rhode Island 
man, he would watch with a jealous eye the action of Con- 
gress, and apprehend undue influence, were the weight of 
that body thrown in the scale. "Are gentlemen afraid," said 
he, "to leave them to their own unbiased judgment? For 
my part, I am not." 3 Madison, realizing the delicacy of the 
situation, said, "It would be improper in this body to ex- 
pose themselves to have such a proposition rejected by the 
legislature of the state of Rhode Island. It would likewise 
be improper to express a desire on an occasion where a free 
agency ought to be employed, which would carry with it the 
force of a command." 4 

The nearer neighbors of Rhode Island were not disposed 
to such delicacy of treatment. Sherman of Connecticut 
saw no impropriety in asking for ratification. To the ob- 
jection that such a request might bear the semblance of a 
command, he replied, " If a wish of Congress can bring 

1 United States Chronicle, Mar. zj, 17S8. 

* Annals of Congress, i, 437. 

* Ibid., 438. * Ibid., i, 439. 



305] RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION 187 

them into the Union, why should we decline to express such 
a wish ? " ' 

The idea of coercion had at this time gained little head- 
way in Congress. When Page asked, " Suppose they de- 
cline doing what you require, what is next to be done?" 2 
the strongest response was from Fisher Ames, when he said, 
" I should be glad to know if any gentleman contemplates 
the state of Rhode Island dissevered from the Union, a mari- 
time state, situated in the most convenient manner for 
smuggling and defrauding our revenue. Surely a moment's 
reflection will induce the house to take measures to secure 
this object."' Even this language contemplated nothing 
more than a request which might operate as a demand. 
But it revealed the fact that a large party at the north, 
which was prepared to demand ratification, needed but a 
grain of self-interest involved to lead them to coercive 
measures. Benson's resolution failed of passage, and the 
matter was dropped. 

The whole Union watched anxiously the course of Rhode 
Island as she again and again refused to call a convention. 
As the weeks slipped by, a feeling that coercion might yet 
be the only alternative, was growing. A member of Con- 
gress, writing to a citizen of Rhode Island on the fifteenth 
of September, expressed the hope of soon welcoming in 
Congress a delegation from that state. Should they not 
appear, extreme measures must follow. " Enemies they 
must be, or fellow-citizens, and that in a very short time." * 
Caleb Strong remarked to Theodore Foster, after the call 
for the convention had issued, that though there was but 
small hope of ratification, yet it was a relief that the conven- 
tion was called. His conviction was that should ratification 
fail, Congress would be justified in proceeding to extreme 

1 Annals of Congress, i, 440. ' /bid., i, 438, ' Ibid., i, 440. 

4 United States Chronicle, Oct. I, 1789. 



188 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [306 

measures. 1 In affirming the right of Congress to call on 
Rhode Island for her share of the revolutionary debt, the 
Gazette asks, "Will Congress suffer a single refractory- 
state to embarrass its great necessary national measures?" 2 

During the last weeks of the first session of the first Con- 
gress and the early part of the second session, a new impulse 
was given to the Rhode Island question in that body by the 
introduction of two measures on which the country was 
sharply divided. These were the question as to the perma- 
nent residence of Congress, and that portion of Hamilton's 
proposed funding system which provided for the assumption 
of state debts by the general government. 

It is scarcely possible to conceive the importance ascribed 
at that time to the location of the national capital. The 
middle states were each straining every nerve to secure that 
location within their own boundaries. From New Jersey, 3 Vir- 
ginia/ Maryland, 5 Pennsylvania,* and Delaware ' came over- 
tures to Congress looking to the location of the national 
legislature within their limits. Pennsylvania opened the 
subject by moving that the seat of government be fixed at 
some convenient place, as near the center of wealth, popula- 
tion, and territory as was consistent with access by water from 
the ocean and easy communication with the western terri- 
tory. 8 The northern states promptly followed with a reso- 
lution to place the national capital on the east bank of the 
Susquehanna, in Pennsylvania, and until such place should 
be in readiness Congress should remain in New York. This 
was a part of the agreement under which Pennsylvania had 
joined the north in laying protective duties. She was to 
have the support of that section for her attempt to secure 

1 Foster Correspondence, i, 23. 

1 Providence Gazette, Feb. 27, 1 790. 

3 Annals of Congress, i, 67. * Hid., i, 358. b Ibid., i, 371. 

6 Ibid., i, 802. J Ibid., i, 915. 8 Ibid., \, 816. 



307] RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION r 89 

the capital. Repeated attempts by the south, in the House, 
failed to shake the combination of Pennsylvania and the 
north. 1 The motion, fixing upon the Susquehanna and New 
York as the permanent and temporary scats, having pre- 
vailed, a bill was introduced to that end, 2 and passed, after a 
vigorous debate, by a vote of thirty-one to seventeen. 3 

The Senate at once took up the bill, and, after a vain at- 
tempt to substitute the Potomac for the Susquehanna, passed 
the measure with an amendment setting aside a district ten 
miles square, on the Delaware.* By an amendment in the 
House the bill was postponed until the next session. 5 

During the following months the location of the seat of 
government was a living issue, though it was not a subject of 
debate for some time. Pennsylvania was the keystone cov- 
eted for completing two political arches. On her both par- 
ties staked their hopes. Though that state had secured such 
a favorable arrangement with the north, Madison, believing 
that the north was scheming to retain the seat of government 
in that section, wrote, on November twentieth, that Morris 
was inclined to keep alive the possibility of an arrangement 
with the south. 6 By this arrangement, the permanent resi- 
dence would be fixed on the Potomac, and the temporary 
seat at Philadelphia. Should the north insist on further 
delay, Morris stood ready to cancel his agreement with that 
party. 

At the re-assembling of Congress, in January, 1790, the 
states north of Pennsylvania had, in the House, twenty six 
votes, while those to the southward would have, on the 
arrival of the North Carolina delegation, thirty. Should 

1 Annals of Congress, i, 91 5— 1 7 ; Gilpin, Writings 0/ Madison, i, 492; IVritings 
of Usher Ames, i, 69. 

7 Annals of ( 'ongress, i, 927. 

s Ibid., i, 946. « Ibid., i, 8S-9 1 . ' Ibid., i, 96 1 . 

• Gilpin, Writings of Madison, i, 494. 



ig RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION | 308 

Pennsylvania remain with the north, that party would control 
thirty-three votes. In the Senate, with North Carolina pres- 
ent, and aided by Maclay, who was uncompromisingly allied 
with the south, thirteen votes could be brought to oppose 
eleven from the north. Could this state of affairs be pre- 
served, and the question postponed until Rhode Island 
should come upon the scene, the vote would be tied in the 
Senate, and the vice-president would cast his vote in favor of 
the north. All seemed to depend on the speedy ratification 
of Rhode Island. 

In the meantime the presentation of Hamilton's scheme 
for the organization of the finances added an element of 
complication. It was proposed that the United States 
should assume, and during the year 1791 provide for all 
such state debts or parts thereof, as should be subscribed to 
a loan to the United States. The interest was to be as- 
sumed by the United States on January first, 1792, and the 
amount assumed was to be charged to each state. 1 The war 
debts of the states were very unequal. Massachusetts, Con- 
necticut and South Carolina were the most deeply involved, 
while New Jersey and New York were burdened to a much 
less degree. New Hampshire and Georgia were particularly 
free from debt. Virginia had had a large debt, but had 
funded securities at a low rate and relieved herself by the 
sale of western land. Division on lines of self interest at 
once became marked. 

The plan of the administration found its chief supporters 
in Lawrence, Smith of South Carolina, Fitzsimmons, Sher- 
man, Ames, Gerry, Goodhue and Sedgwick. Their argu- 
ment was that these debts had been incurred in the common 
cause, and were the debt of the whole people. Before the 
failure of the continental currency this view had been gen- 

1 Annals of Congress, i, 1092; ii, 2041-74; Writings 0/ Hamilton, ii, 10? 



309] RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION jc^i 

erally accepted.' Of the opposition the leaders were Liver- 
more, Stone, Page, White and Jackson. Madison would 
have preferred making provision for a final settlement and 
payment of balances between the states. 1 The chief ob- 
jections expressed were, that no state had demanded 
assumption, and that separate undertakings had been 
engaged in by the states without common consent. 3 That 
this plan would tend to bind the states more closely to- 
gether, was charged as a fault on one side, and commended 
as a virtue on the other. The question came to a vote in 
committee of the whole on March ninth, when it passed by 
a majority of five. 4 Though great haste was made to com- 
plete the work before North Carolina appeared, a vote for 
recommitment was carried by the early arrival of the dele- 
gation from that state. 5 

While the measure was still in committee, a plan was set 
on foot among the Pennsylvania men for bartering that state's 
vote for assumption and for receiving in return support for 
Philadelphia as the permanent capital." When the commit- 
tee again reached a vote, on April twelfth, the assumption 
clause was lost by a majority of two. 7 The consternation 
into which the assumptionists were thrown, showed the in- 
tensity of their feeling on the subject. Gerry declared that 
the Massachusetts delegation would do nothing until instruc- 
tions were teceived from home." It was their avowed inten- 

1 Annals of Congress, ii, 141S. 

'Gilpin, Writings 0/ Madison, i, <;o8, 511. 

3 Annals 0/ Congress, ii, 1 3S5» 14-8. 

* Maclay's journal, 209; Gilpin, Writings of Madison, i, 512. 

5 Annals of Congress, ii, 1528-31; Gilpin, li ritings of Madison, i, 514; Ma- 
clay's Journal, 226. 

• Maclay's Journal, 230. 

T Annals of Congress, ii, 1577. 
1 Maclay's Journal, 237. 



IQ2 RFIODE ISLAND AND THE UNION Vh™ 

tion to oppose the whole financial plan unless assumption 
formed a part of it. Rumors of disunion were whispered 
about. 1 

The question of residence was not forgotten. The subject 
was sedulously avoided by the north, hoping that good news 
might come from Rhode Island. Pennsylvania, becoming 
impatient at the apparent inertia of the north, was on the 
point of declaring her alliance with that party broken. 2 The 
south, suspecting Pennsylvania's sincerity, did not take 
advantage of that state's indecision. 

While politics at the national capital were in this attitude 
of suspense, Rhode Island not only adjourned her conven- 
tion, but at the state election gave a substantial majority to 
the Anti-Federal party. Greater zeal was infused into the 
assumptionists by their defeat. But now they were obliged 
to proceed by a more circuitous route. With Pennsylvania 
coquetting with the south, the north turned its attention to 
Rhode Island. After their former experiences with that 
state, and when their most dearly cherished schemes were in 
the balance, little delicacy of treatment could be expected 
by the subject of their displeasure. In the senate, on April 
twenty- eighth, a committee was appointed "to consider 
what provisions will be proper for Congress in the present 
session respecting the state of Rhode Island." 5 The recom- 
mendation of this committee led to the introduction of a 
resolution, on May eleventh, "that all commercial inter- 
course between the United States and the state of Rhode 
Island, from and after the first day of July next, be prohib- 
ited under suitable penalties ; and that the president of the 
United States be authorized to demand of the state of Rhode 
Island . . . dollars, to be paid into the treasury of the 

1 Gilpin, Writings of Madison, i, 517. 

2 Maclay's Journal, 192. 

s Annals 0/ Congress, i, IC03; Maclay's Journal, 250. 



31 i J RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION ig$ 

United States by the . . . day of . . . next ; which shall 
be credited to the said state in account with the United 
States ; and that a bill or bills be brought in for those pur- 
poses." ' By such a measure, all commercial relations be- 
tween Rhode Island and her neighbors would be cut off at a 
blow. Left thus alone, a substantial payment on the Revo- 
lutionary debt was demanded. It needed but a demand for 
the whole, and the necessary failure of the state to pay it, to 
offer a sufficient pretext for a resort to arms. 

In accordance with the resolution a bill was reported and 
read on May twelfth, carried to a second reading on the fol- 
lowing day, and on the third recommitted. 2 The committee 
having in charge the matter were Carroll of Maryland, Ells- 
worth of Connecticut, Morris of Pennsylvania, and Izard and 
Butler of South Carolina. From its earliest inception, the 
measure was ardently supported by Ellsworth and King, 
much to the disgust of the southern members, Maclay 
and Col. Gunn/ While the matter was still in the hands of 
the committee, Maclay vehemently opposed any action so 
long as the constitution was under consideration in Rhode 
Island. It seemed improper at such a time to pass an act 
bearing on its face a punishment for rejection, and all this 
for fear of a decrease in the revenues. Guilt should be 
established before extreme measures were adopted. The 
whole affair seemed to him premature, and the demand for 
Rhode Island's share of the public debt bore too evidently 
the stamp of an attack. 4 On the second reading of the bill 
its advocates did not hesitate to admit the independence of 
Rhode Island, or that she had a right either to adopt or 
to reject the constitution. Neither did they deny that these 
measures were taken to force ratification. Their arguments 
were founded on the strength of the Union and the weakness 

1 Annals of Congress, i, 1009. J Ibid., i, IOII-I2. 

' Maclay's Journal, 251. * Hid., 259. 



1 94 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [j I2 

of one state. Morris was with the north, while Maclay con- 
tinued to oppose the bill. The latter declared that it could 
not be justified "on the principles of freedom, law, the con- 
stitution, or any mode whatever." ' He openly declared 
that the object of the "Yorkers" was to get two senators to 
vote with them on the question of the location of the capital. 
Izard, who was active in the matter, admitted the severity of 
the measure when he said, " If gentlemen will show us how 
we can accomplish our end by any means less arbitrary and 
tyrannical, I will agree with them." 2 Even Morris was con- 
strained to admit that the proposition to demand twenty- 
seven thousand dollars was a most arbitrary proceeding. 

On the third reading of the bill, on the eighteenth of the 
month, King, Ellsworth, Strong and Izard urged its passage 
on the grounds of self-defense, self preservation and self- 
interest. Maclay, in opposition, reminded Congress that the 
Rhode Island convention was about to re-assemble. The 
bill was evidently prepared in anticipation of that event, to 
inspire the people of that state with terror. " It was meant," 
said he, " to be used in the same way that a robber does a 
dagger, or a highwayman a pistol." 3 The bill was passed, 
however, and sent to the House. 

There, in committee of the whole, Page, of Virginia, mov- 
ing to discharge the committee, spoke long and earnestly 
against the measure. He argued that, as the Rhode Island 
convention was soon to meet, there should be nothing before 
Congress to influence their choice. Pressure would display 
a wrong spirit. In such a case, said he, " she will come with 
so bad a grace into the Union that she must be ashamed 
when she enters it, and the independent states must blush 
when they receive her. It becomes this House to pity the 
frailty of the weak and ignorant, who know not the blessings 
of our new government, to forgive the perverse and wicked 

1 Maclay's Journal, 263. ''■Ibid., 264. 3 Ibid., 266. 



313] RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONSTITUTION ^5 

who oppose it from base principles, and to show generous 
indulgence to that jealous, cautious, republican spirit, which 
indeed we should cherish and revere." ' With such a spirit 
manifested in Congress, it seemed to him that Rhode Island 
would see her interest in joining the Union, but if it should 
appear that Congress was more anxious to complete the 
Union than to preserve the rights of freemen, and the prin- 
ciples of the revolution, what should Rhode Island expect? 
In such a case would not their resistance be applauded by 
republicans throughout the world ? Love of freedom, patriot- 
ism and humanity was invoked in an address concluding with 
this fervid appeal, " Let us not treat a sister state in the very 
manner we disdained to be treated by Great Britain."- The 
influence combined with policy prevailed, and the bill was 
made the order of a future day. 

Rhode Island had not been permitted to remain in ignor- 
ance of the share of the time occupied in the discussion of 
her affairs. Nearly every issue of the newspapers contained 
hints of coercion. A representative in Congress from Massa- 
chusetts wrote, on April twenty-sixth, " I have the utmost 
confidence in her good sense, and that she will voluntarily 
relieve us from all those disagreeable consequences which 
might result from her longer continuance in her elopement." 3 
Another Congressman remarked that "the safety of this 
government and the collection of its revenues may require 
that measures disagreeable to your citizens should be 
adopted." 4 News of the introduction of the resolution 
against Rhode Island, which was first received in that state 
by the publication of a letter in the Gazette, was at first 

1 Atinals of Conp-ess, ii, 1672. * Ibid., ii, 1674. 

■ United States Chronicle, May 27, 1790. 

* Providence Gazette, May 22, 29, 1790; United States Chronicle, May 20, 
1790. 



igC RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [lH 

deemed preposterous, but subsequent advices confirmed its 
truth. 1 

Again, it was declared that, should Rhode Island reject the 
constitution, or adjourn without reaching a vote, "The gov- 
ernment here will be justified even to the discerning people 
in Rhode Island, in proposing measures which under other 
circumstances might be thought severe." 2 By another Con- 
gressman it was announced that hope of Rhode Island was 
no longer entertained, and that the course to be taken to cut 
off commercial relations with her was already planned. In- 
timating that should coercion be attempted it would be 
carried through, he said, " I should suppose that your 
opposers would readily see the prudence of preventing 
coercion . . . What is now before the senate, and which is 
supported by a majority perfectly disposed to bring your 
state into the union, ought to be made known in your state. 
The people in the back parts ought no longer to be deceived 
with the idea, that the condition of single independence is 
an eligible one." 3 

It was in the sight of this threatening array that the 
Rhode Island convention assembled on the twenty-fourth of 
May. To oppose the influence thus exerted, the Anti- 
Federalists relied on the oft expressed sentiments of the 
majority, and on the prestige of the late sweeping victory in 
the state. A quorum was not secured until the twenty- 
sixth. 4 As the delegates came slowly into Newport, many 
of them brought instructions in respect both to the amend- 
ments and to the bill of rights, as well as to adoption. North 
Kingstown instructed her delegates not to vote for ratifica- 
tion until their proceedings should have been again laid be- 

1 United States Chronicle, May 20, 1790; Providence Gazette, May 15,27, 1790. 

2 United States Chronicle, May 20, 1790. 

3 Ibid., May 20, 1790. * Ibid., June 3, 1790. 



315] RHODE ISLAND AXD THE CONSTITUTION igy 

fore the town, and the Rhode Island amendments adopted 
by Congress. 1 Middletown, Portsmouth and Providence 
were, on the other hand, firm for ratification." In case of 
rejection or adjournment before ratification, the latter town 
instructed her delegates to enter a spirited protest. So in- 
tense was the sentiment there against rejection, that the in- 
structions continue, " It is our opinion that, on the rejection 
of the said constitution or further delay of a decision thereon, 
the respective towns of the state have a right to make appli- 
cation to the Congress of the United States, for the same 
privileges and protection which are afforded to the towns 
under their jurisdiction, and, in such case, the delegates 
from this town be, and they are hereby, fully authorized and 
empowered to meet with the delegates from the town of 
Newport, and the delegates from such other towns as may 
think proper to join them, for the purpose of consulting and 
devising such mode of application as they in their wisdom 
may think proper, and to carry the result of their delibera- 
tions into immediate effect, and that they make report of 
their doings to the next town meeting." :t 

This was a unique proceeding. Separation from England 
had followed a difference of opinion. Separation from the 
other states was now maintained by Rhode Island on account 
of a difference of opinion. But to carry the process of dis- 
integration to its logical extent, involving the secession of 
towns from the state, was heretofore unheard of. The sen- 
sation caused by such action demanded some explanation 
from the towns in question. A justification was attempted 
in a set of ingenious, though inconsistent resolutions, wherein 
it was assumed that at the declaration of independence the 

1 Papers Relating to the Adoption 0/ the Constitution, 96. 

2 Ibid., 96-8. 

' Ibid., 93; Providence Town Meeting Records, s\\, 169. 



jgS RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [3^ 

people reverted to a state of natural liberty. But the people 
of Rhode Island had never expressly or impliedly consented 
to assume any authority or sovereignty separate from the 
other states, and owed no allegiance to their present govern- 
ment so long as it is disconnected with the other states. On 
the refusal of the convention to be reunited with the other 
states, which a rejection of the constitution would virtually 
be, the people, or any group of them, would be justified in 
exercising their natural rights for the security of life, liberty, 
and property. 1 But this was the natural result of the pre- 
vailing political tendencies and theories. If the state was the 
result of a social compact, the right by which the colonies 
broke the compact with England must remain to the people 
of Providence to break their compact with the other towns. 
Whether the announcement of this policy was intended as 
anything more than a club with which to drive the conven- 
tion, the action of that body in ratifying the constitution has 
left in doubt. 

The amendments and bill of rights, imposing as they were 
in length, were deemed insufficient by many towns. Five 
towns, clinging to the idea that senators were delegates from 
the state governments, demanded that each state have power 
to recall its own, and that their remuneration be a charge to 
the state. 2 Charlestown desired that the executive and judi- 
cial functions of the senate be abridged, and that judicial 
powers in general be more clearly defined and separated 
from those of the states. 3 Richmond asked that power be 
given Congress to take immediate action against slavery. 
Providence entered a protest against any attempt to strike 
out the amendment on that subject already proposed/ From 
the opening of the convention the policy of the Federalists 

1 United States Chronicle, May 27, 1790. 

2 Papers Relating to the Adoption of the Constitution, 96, 98, 99. 3 Ibid., 98. 
* Ibid., 99; Providence Town Meeting Records, vii, 168. 



317] RHODE ISLAND A AD THE CONSTITUTION IO ,c; 

was to press for a vote on the constitution. The Anti- 
Federalists, continuing their original plan of inaction, were 
working for adjournment, but were defeated on the first vote 
by a majority of nine. 1 The committee on amendments, 
having taken into consideration the instructions given by the 
towns, brought in on the second day an amendment vesting 
in the state legislatures the power of paying and recalling 
senators.* A committee appointed to draw up further amend- 
ments presented three. The first of these gave Congress 
power to enact laws for the settlement of paupers; the sec- 
ond prohibited Congress from conferring any exclusive 
privileges of commerce, and the third provided that the yeas 
and nays on any question should be entered on the journal 
of either house of Congress at the request of two members. 
The committee further recommended that the amendment 
already proposed providing for the ratification of the amend- 
ments offered by Congress, be stricken out, and that instead 
a recommendation be made to the legislature in favor of all 
of them except the second.' 

The debate continued until the afternoon of the twenty- 
eighth, when, at the request of a member from Portsmouth, 
the convention adjourned until the next afternoon, that he 
might get further instructions from his constituency. 1 The 
instructions which he received simply reiterated those given 
in February and April, and further declared that their town 
would hold itself blameless for any evil consequences which 
might follow rejection. 5 The Middletown delegation had 
taken advantage of the adjournment to secure for themselves 
further instructions for ratification. 6 

1 United States Chronicle, June 3, 1790. 
* Minutes of the Convention. i Ibid. 

4 United States Chronicle, June 3, 1 790. 

h Papers Relating to the Adoption of the Constitution, 94, 97 ; Minutes of the 
Convention. 
r ' Minutes of the Convention. 



200 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [3^ 

The question of ratification was reached about five o'clock 
on Saturday, May twenty-ninth, and was carried by a vote 
of thirty-four to thirty two. 1 The formal act ratifying the 
constitution, and embodying the Bill of Rights and amend- 
ments proposed, was soon passed, and after recommending 
the amendments proposed by Congress, except the second, 
the convention adjourned sine die. 

The news of the ratification of the constitution was re- 
ceived with the greatest demonstrations of joy in many parts 
of the state, for even those who had been in opposition had 
begun to weary of the suspense. The governor lost no time 
in communicating the news of ratification to the President, 
and a special session of the legislature was at once called. 
That body proceeded to the election of senators, and the 
people at their town meetings in August chose their first 
representative in Congress. Rhode Island was once more 
one of the United States of America. 

1 Minutes of the Convention. 



CHAPTER VI 

CONCLUSION 

So did Rhode Island at last ratify the constitution and 
once more place herself in that harmony with her neighbors 
which had been broken since her refusal to grant the impost 
of 1 78 1. But attached to and forming a part of Rhode 
Island's act of ratification was a Bill of Rights of eighteen 
articles. It was " Under these impressions and declaring 
that the rights aforesaid cannot be abridged or violated, and 
that the explanations aforesaid are consistent with the said 
constitution, and in confidence that the amendments herein- 
after mentioned will receive an early and mature considera- 
tion, and, conformably to the fifth article of said constitution, 
speedily become a part thereof," that the act of ratification 
was passed. Accompanying the act were also twenty-one 
amendments for the incorporation of which in the constitu- 
tion the representatives of the state in Congress were in- 
structed to labor. 1 

In publishing a bill of rights, Rhode Island was following 
the example of New York, Virginia and North Carolina.' 
In their declarations the states had once more reiterated 
the fundamentals of English liberty. Many of their state- 
ments appear in the early state constitutions, and many are 
contained in that bill of rights which we know as the first ten 
amendments to the constitution of the United States. The 
declarations of the four states arc remarkably similar. Not 

1 Appendix A. 

1 Elliot's Debates {Ed. /Sj6), i, 361 ; iii, 592; iv, 250. 
319] 201 



202 



RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION 



[320 



one of those offered by Rhode Island is peculiarly its own. 
Each provision had been adopted or proposed by at least 
one of the states which had preceded her. 

In proposing amendments Rhode Island had been pre- 
ceded by Massachusetts, South Carolina, New Hampshire, 
Virginia, New York and North Carolina. In each of these 
states there was a party actively opposed to the constitution, 
a party so strong that it was only by a compromise in the 
form of proposed amendments that ratification could be 
secured. It is in the amendments offered by the states that 
an attempt was made to give expression to the most serious 
objections of the opposing party. 

A comparative study of the amendments offered should 
then reveal not only the cause of their hesitancy, but 
whether there were advanced in Rhode Island objections 
peculiar to that state. Examination shows that the twenty- 
one articles offered by Rhode Island were also proposed by 
certain of the other states offering amendments as follows : 

By Rhode Island and 6 others 2, viz., 2, 8. 



<< a a 


5 


« 2, 


' 1, 20. 




<< << << 


4 


' I, ' 


' 12. 




M U « 


3 


' 2, 


' 10, 15. 




(< K (< 


2 


2, 


' 5»»- 




<( << « 


1 


' 7, 


' 3. 7. x 3> 14. 16, 


18, 21 


" " alone 




5. 


' 4, 6, 9, 17, 19. 





Whenever one state only is found advancing an amend- 
ment with Rhode Island, that state is in all but one instance 
New York. 1 

The instances in which the action of a considerable num- 
ber of states was similar to that of Rhode Island can scarcely 
be said to contain anything distinctively characteristic of 
that state. In the case of amendments proposed by two 



1 Elliot's Debates {Ed. 1836), i, 363. 



3 2 I ] CONCL US J ON 2 O 3 

other states (in each case Virginia and North Carolina), 1 
viz.: the 5th and nth, a closer study may be of interest. 
The fifth, which seeks to cut off the retroactive power of the 
United States courts, "except in disputes between states 
about their territory, disputes between persons claiming 
lands under grants of different states, and debts due to the 
United States," '-' should be read in connection with the third, 
which was also proposed by North Carolina. 

The eleventh may be considered in connection with the 
tenth, also proposed by North Carolina and Virginia." 1 The 
one provided for the publication of the receipts and expendi- 
tures of the government annually, while the second called 
for the publication of the journal of each house at similar 
intervals. These arose out of a dislike of secrecy in govern- 
mental affairs. The custom of the utmost publicity of both 
the accounts and the journals has shown amendment in this 
direction to be unnecessary. 

Seven of Rhode Island's amendments were proposed by 
one other state only. 4 In each case except that of the third 
the other state was New York. When that state took up the 
consideration of the constitution it was believed, even by the 
friends of the measure, that more than one-half of the state 
was opposed. In this condition of affairs, it was only by 
the superb leadership of Hamilton, supported by Jay and 
Robert R. Livingston, that this majority was overcome. 

Of these amendments the seventh, prohibiting the laying 
of a capitation or poll tax, time has proven to have been un- 
necessary. This should be read in connection with the 
eighth and ninth, the former of which appeared in substance 
in the amendments of all six of the states, and prohibited 
the laying of direct taxes except after the failure of requisi- 

1 Elliot's Debates {Ed. /Sj6), iii, 594; iv, 250. *-•'//■ ■'■ 

3 Elliot's Delates {Ed. 1S36), iii, 594; iv, 250. ' .///. A. 



204 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [322 

tions upon the states. Though at that time this was so gen- 
erally deemed necessary, experience has shown that our 
government seldom resorts to this form of taxation. To 
these safeguards Rhode Island alone would have added her 
ninth amendment forbidding the laying of direct taxes ex- 
cept with the consent of two-thirds of the states. All three 
of these amendments indicate an unwillingness to place 
in untried hands so important a function as taxation. It 
was the same spirit that had defeated the proposed impost 
of 1 78 1. In the matter of borrowing money as well as in 
taxation distrust was shown when Rhode Island and New 
York sought to limit the power of Congress by requiring a 
two-thirds vote on any proposition to borrow money. On 
the question of declaring war the same two states would 
have required a similar two-thirds vote. Again the same 
policy impelled both states to place a powerful weapon in 
the hands of obstructionists, in the form of an amendment 
which provided for entering the yeas and nays on the journal 
at the wish of any two members. 

In the history of this period, again and again there is evi- 
dence of a misunderstanding of the true theory of represen- 
tation. The congresses and assemblies of the Revolution 
had been composed of instructed delegates. The articles 
of confederation, creating simply a delegated government, 
furnished a present exemplification of the principle. The 
now generally accepted theory of representation found no 
place in their political science. The proposition to make 
representatives independent of the state was a marked inno- 
vation, but to extend this immunity from instruction to 
senators who were supposed to represent the state as a unit 
was not to be thought of. The right to give instruction 
must be retained as a safeguard, but how could this be made 
effective without the accompanying power of recall? 

To preserve judicial independence, New York and Rhode 



323] CONCLUSION 205 

Island did not deem it sufficient that the judges should be 
removable only by impeachment, but would have provided 
further that no judge of the Supreme Court should hold any 
other office under the United States or a state. To preserve 
the distinction between state and federal officers, and to pre- 
vent federal influence from intruding itself, Rhode Island in- 
sisted on a provision that no officer appointed by the Presi- 
dent or Congress should hold office under a state. 

The state's third amendment, which was also proposed by 
North Carolina, after declaring that in suits to which a state 
might be a party, the jurisdiction of the United States courts 
should not extend "to criminal prosecutions, or to authorize 
any suit by any person against a state," proceeds to secure 
the state against the interference of Congress or of the judici- 
ary " with any one of the states, in the redemption of paper 
money already emitted, and now in circulation, or in liqui- 
dating or discharging the public securities of any one state ; 
that each and every state shall have the exclusive right of 
making such laws and regulations for the before-mentioned 
purposes as they shall think proper." In the case of each 
state this latter part is traceable to the paper money in- 
fluence which had shown itself powerful in North Carolina 
only less than in Rhode Island. Rhode Island was still in 
the hands of that paper money party which, after passing a 
series of abominable laws and robbing the state of her fair 
name, had suffered defeat at the hands of the state judiciary. 
For more than two years this party had struggled success- 
fully against a constitution which created an independent 
judiciary capable of checking their legislative vagaries. 
Now, when they were forced to yield, this amendment 
appears as a last attempt to protect themselves. There is 
also in this an expression of fear that the federal judiciary 
would encroach too far on the sphere of state action. 

The question of the suability of a state had awakened an 



2o6 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [324 

animated discussion in some quarters previous to 1789. In 
the Virginia convention Madison and Marshall, 1 and Hamil- 
ton in the Federalist, 2 had denied this interpretation of the 
power of the Supreme Court. When this question was raised 
in a concrete form by a decision of the court, 3 similar fears 
were aroused in Georgia, Maryland, New York and Massa- 
chusetts. 

It now remains to look at the five amendments which 
Rhode Island alone proposed. Here if anywhere may we 
hope to find formulated to some extent the objections of the 
opponents of the measure. The ninth has already been 
considered in connection with the eighth, and found to be 
but an additional attempt to limit the taxing power of Con- 
gress. Rhode Island alone of the states sought to protect 
her rights by making the constitution more difficult of 
amendment. Owing to the difficulty of securing amend- 
ments as now provided, the tendency has been to seek for 
an easier method of procedure ; but Rhode Island, realizing 
that her puny size would count but little among the larger 
states, sought in her fourth amendment to require after 1793 
the assent of eleven of the states to any amendment which 
might be offered. In the Federal Convention, Roger Sher- 
man had objected to the three-fourths provision for ratifica- 
tion, and was so strongly supported that a compromise was 
inserted in the form of a provision that no state should 
without its consent be deprived of its equal representation 
in the senate.' 1 

The sixth amendment provided that no one should be 
compelled to do military duty but by voluntary enlistment 
except in time of invasion. This might be construed with 
the twelfth, which forbade the maintenance of a standing 

1 Elliot's Debates, iii, 533, 555. 2 Federalist, no. 81. 

3 Chisholm vs. Georgia, 2 Dallas, 419. * Elliot's Debates, v, 551. 



325] CONCLUSION 207 

army, as an expression of a vague dread of militarism and 
arbitrary power. 

The seventeenth amendment, a movement for the immedi- 
ate prohibition of the slave trade, was the product of a long 
and heated discussion in the state convention. There was 
manifested a strong hostility to slavery on moral grounds. 
The opponents of the measure argued that this was a ques- 
tion for each state to settle. Rhode Island could settle it 
for herself, and the southern states could do the same. It 
was pointed out that to arrive at any agreement all sections 
must yield something, and as a concession to the south this 
should not be pressed. As a compromise it was decided to 
adopt the vague wording of the amendment. 

Her nineteenth amendment was perhaps unique, since it 
embodied an attempt to secure a national law of settlement. 
Why this was proposed was not evident, but it would seem 
that some action on the part of other states was anticipated 
whereby Rhode Island would be forced to bear more than 
her share of taxation for this purpose. 

Having reviewed those amendments which in any measure 
bear the stamp of Rhode Island origin, what peculiarities 
appear? The amendments bear the impress of the genius 
of the state where they were proposed. Offered by the 
states most deeply imbued with the ideas of state rights, 
their purpose in each case was to preserve the individuality 
of the state and to exclude federal power. Rhode Island 
adds, if anything, a nervous dread of the overweening power 
of her larger neighbors, either singly or combined, in Con- 
gress. 

A point has now been reached from which it may be pos- 
sible to form a proper estimate of Rhode Island's relations 
to the Union during the Revolutionary period. In the be- 
ginning Rhode Island was the product of persecution, civil 
and religious. The colony was founded by men of advanced 



208 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [326 

and peculiar views. They were specimens of the Puritanical 
aftermath of the Reformation, in whom the doctrine of in- 
dividual judgment was carried to its logical results. With- 
out a presentiment that they were founding a commonwealth 
for posterity, they established themselves in settlements 
apart and disconnected, which united their political fortunes 
only for self-preservation. Each step in departure from that 
simplest form of democracy which found favor in the infant 
communities was taken only after mature deliberation and 
with the utmost caution. Everywhere the rights of individu- 
als and of the various communities were most carefully 
guarded. The popular assembly, the popular initiative and 
referendum, frequent election of officials, as well as the pre- 
ponderating influence of the legislature, all bear witness of 
their solicitude. 

The pressure of hostile neighbors neutralized to an extent 
the centrifugal tendencies of the founders. Resistance, long 
and stubborn, to the hostility of Massachusetts and Connec- 
ticut as evinced by their repeated attempts to gain jurisdic- 
tion over the territory of Rhode Island, laid the foundations 
of a deep sense of individuality as a Commonwealth. 

Liberty was the presiding genius of the spiritual life of the 
colony. Freedom of conscience, proclaimed by the founders, 
formed the corner-stone of both the spiritual and the poli- 
tical structure. Never in the course of her history did 
the colony lose sight of this principle. But at the same 
time this liberty of conscience, giving as it did full play to 
personal opinion, could not but heighten that other charac- 
teristic of the colony, individualism. Individualism, democ- 
racy, and liberty of conscience, these were the guiding prin- 
ciples of the colony's growth. Under them developed a 
community whose material interests were centered in agricul- 
ture and commerce. While the conditions of colonial life 
necessitated that the tilling of the soil should be the most 



^2j] COXCLUS/ON 209 

widespread occupation, yet the excellent maritime position 
of the colony early led men to seek in commerce the compe- 
tence which a stubborn soil refused. In this respect she was 
no mean rival of the greater colonies of Massachusetts and 
New York. In the excitement attendant upon the paper 
money craze of the first half of the eighteenth century, and 
the Ward-Hopkins controversy of a few years later, a politi- 
cal sense had been developed along the line of partisan pol- 
itics. 

Under these conditions Rhode Island entered the Revolu- 
tion. During the period of intellectual resistance to the 
British ministry, during the subsequent resort to physical 
force, in the breaking of the political ties which bound the 
colonies to Great Britain, and in all attempts to form a con- 
federate government, Rhode Island had not simply acqui- 
esced in the action of her neighbors, but had been found in 
the lead in proposing new measures. It was in the attempt 
to give to the confederation the semblance at least of life, 
that the peculiar traits of the colony asserted themselves. 
Whatever was the intention of the other states, whatever 
may be the conclusions of modern political science, it is cer- 
tain that the people of Rhode Island considered that neither 
the Continental Congress nor the Congress of the Confeder- 
ation had sovereignty over them, but that sovereignty passed 
from Great Britain directly to the several states, where it still 
remained. The proposition to grant Congress power to raise 
a revenue by an impost and to regulate commerce, roused all 
the latent jealousy of outside authority, as well as that state 
rights sentiment which so largely tempered the earlier efforts 
toward nationalism. This display of an independent spirit 
was heightened by the conviction that in the western lands 
was a source of revenue not fraught with danger to the indi- 
vidual states. The particular form of impost was obnoxious 
because of the misapprehension of underlying economic 



2io RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [328 

principles. It was the moment at which the two industrial 
classes fancied that their interests diverged. It was the 
country party, conservative and particularistic, which was 
opposed to the project. Though baffled for a long time, the 
commercial interests finally won their point, but all too late 
to be of service to the dying confederation. 

But though commerce won in this instance, it was at a 
fearful cost. It proved to be the spark that lighted fires 
prepared in the years following the Revolution. The dis- 
tressing economic conditions of the decade following the 
declaration of independence, leading to outbursts of disorder 
in many states, resulted in Rhode Island in a desire for 
paper money. The party of unrest, seeking in a blind way 
for relief from their pitiable financial condition, was made up 
of the same class who had opposed the granting of greater 
powers to Congress, the country party. Gathering to them- 
selves all the dissatisfied and turbulent spirits, they smote the 
commercial power and for years held it beneath their feet. 
The extremities to which they carried their measures of 
repudiation reveal the intensity of their feelings. All the 
examples of colonial and Revolutionary days were sur- 
passed. The advocates of honest money and honest deal- 
ing were forced to see their state burdened with a reputation 
for commercial dishonor as abhorrent to them as it was fatal 
to their trade. 

In the midst of this dark period the Federal convention 
was called. The avowed object of the convention met with 
small favor from the dominant party in Rhode Island. 
Much less did the results of their labors, when they assumed 
constituent powers and produced a new frame of govern- 
ment. Every interest of the dominant power was opposed 
to the new proposition. The prospect of a strong national 
government, which would exercise an unknown degree of 
power over the localities, had no attractions for a party con- 



329] CONCLUSION 211 

scions of the unrighteousness of its cause. Fearing a check 
upon its mad career, the paper money party set itself to op- 
pose the new project at every step. Standing beside them, 
and in most cases identical with them, were those who were 
anti-federalist from principle; men who were conservative 
and wished to continue in the old way, though before their 
eyes that old way was leading to anarchy. The spirit of in- 
dividualism and democracy pure and simple impelled others 
to look for a change. Such men could only see the dangers 
of the plan, the creation of a power above that of the state, 
which should collect taxes in the state and which might in 
some way swallow up the identity of a commonwealth so 
small as Rhode Island. By such an arrangement it was ap- 
prehended that her neighbors, from whom the state had been 
taught by experience to expect no favors, might be given 
opportunity to encroach upon her. By yielding her inde- 
pendence it was feared too that her liberities, civil and reli- 
gious, so amply secured in her charter, might be wrested 
from her under the new form of government. 

It was a combination of such motives, dishonorable though 
they may have been on the part of a few, yet in the case of 
a majority honest but mistaken, that kept Rhode Island out 
of the Federal convention. The party of paper money and 
anti-federalism, seeing its financial structure crumble like the 
sands on which it was built, wreaked their otherwise im- 
potent wrath on the new constitution. All the suspicion 
toward the other classes of society, all the jealousy of 
external domination, all the tendency to particularism 
existent in the community, showed itself in opposition to 
the measure. Like an army without a leader, the friends of 
the constitution sought repeatedly, but in vain, to rally their 
forces. It is well known that in several states, notably Mas- 
sachusetts, New York, Virginia and North Carolina, this 
opposition was at first in the majority. There too the 



212 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [330 

struggle was fierce and long. It was only by the efforts of 
able leaders that this majority was overcome. It was 
through the lack of such leaders that Rhode Island was 
placed at a great disadvantage. There no Hamilton or Jay, 
no Madison or Randolph, arose to lead the federalist minor- 
ity to victory. 

Intrenched behind ignorance, suspicion and prejudice, 
their opponents stood firm. In April, 1789, when the 
federal union had become a fact, the people of Rhode 
Island began to realize what it meant to be outside that 
union. The ranks of opposition wavered but held on 
grimly. Congress, at first disposed to grant Rhode Island 
time for consideration, when it became involved in partisan 
strife, yielded to party interest and and resolved to end the 
suspense. A well-framed resolution and the unofficial 
statements of the probable consequences of persistence were 
sufficient to convince the opposition that the present dan- 
gers of refusal were greater than the possible future dangers 
of ratification, and the struggle was brought to a close. 

In passing judgment on this episode in history, the worst 
that can be said is that it was the result of mistaken judg- 
ments by men of narrow horizon. This result was nothing 
abnormal, neither was it the product of any inherent ten- 
dency to anarchy or perversity in the people of the state. 
It was the natural outcome of the conditions of the times, 
reacted upon by the Rhode Island character which had been 
forming since 1636. It was the outcropping of the undying 
love of the people of the state for democracy and liberty, 
and their jealousy of all authority outside their own bound- 
aries. 



APPENDIX A 

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION PRESENTED BY THE 
RHODE ISLAND CONVENTION 

1. THE United States shall guarantee to each state its 
sovereignty, freedom and independence, and every power, 
jurisdiction and right which is not by this Constitution ex- 
pressly delegated to the United States. 

2. That Congress shall not alter, modify or interfere in the 
times, places or manner of holding elections for senators and 
representatives, or either of them, except when the legisla- 
ture of any state shall neglect, refuse, or be disabled by in- 
vasion or rebellion, to prescribe the same, or in case when 
the provision made by the state is so imperfect as that no 
consequent election is had, and then only until the legisla- 
ture of said state shall make provision in the premises. 

3. It is declared by the convention, that the judicial 
power of the United States, in cases in which a state may be 
a party, does not extend to criminal prosecutions, or to 
authorize any suit by any person against a state ; but to re- 
move all doubts or controversies respecting the same, that it 
be especially expressed as a part of the Constitution of the 
United States, that Congress shall not, directly or indirectly, 
either by themselves or through the judiciary, interfere with 
any one of the states, in the redemption of paper money 
already emitted, and now in circulation, or in liquidating or 
discharging the public securities of any one state; that each 
and even- state shall have the exclusive right of making such 
laws and regulations for the before mentioned purpose as 
they shall think proper. 

3^ 2li 



214 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UN1CN [332 

4. That no amendments to the Constitution of the United 
States, hereafter to be made, pursuant to the fifth article, 
shall take effect, or become a part of the Constitution of the 
United States, after the year one thousand seven hundred 
and ninety-three, without the consent of eleven of the states 
heretofore united under the confederation. 

5. That the judicial power of the United States shall ex- 
tend to no possible case where the cause of action shall have 
originated before the ratification of this Constitution, except 
in disputes between the states about their territory, disputes 
between persons claiming lands under grants from different 
states, and debts due to the United States. 

6. That no person shall be compelled to do military duty 
other than by voluntary enlistment, except in cases of gen- 
eral invasion, anything in the second paragraph of the sixth 
article of the Constitution, or any law made under the Con- 
stitution to the contrary, notwithstanding. 

7. That no capitation or poll tax shall ever be laid by 
Congress. 

8. In cases of direct taxes, Congress shall first make requi- 
sitions on the several states to assess, levy and pay their 
respective proportions of such requisitions, in such way and 
manner as the legislatures of the several states shall judge 
best, and in case any state shall neglect or refuse to pay its 
proportion pursuant to such requisition, then Congress may 
assess and levy such state's proportion, together with interest, 
at the rate of six per cent, per annum, from the time pre- 
scribed in such requisition. 

9. That Congress shall lay no direct taxes without the 
consent of the legislatures of three-fourths of the states in 
the union. 

10. That the journals of the proceedings of the Senate and 
House of Representatives shall be published as soon as con- 
veniently may be, at least once in every year, except such 



333] APPENDIX 2I5 

parts thereof relating to treaties, alliances, or military, as in 
their judgment require secrecy. 

11. That regular statements of the receipts and expen- 
ditures of all public money shall be published at least once 
a year. 

12. As standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to 
liberty, and ought not to be kept up, except in cases of ne- 
cessity, and as at all times the military should be under 
strict subordination to the civil power, that therefore no 
standing army or regular troops shall be raised or kept up 
in time of peace. 

13. That no moneys be borrowed on the credit of the 
United States, without the assent of two-thirds of the sena- 
tors and representatives present in each house. 

14. That Congress shall not declare war without the con- 
currence of two-thirds of the senators and representatives 
present in each house. 

15. That the words "without the consent of Congress," 
in the seventh clause of the ninth section of the first article 
of the Constitution, be expunged. 

16. That no judge of the Supreme Court of the United 
States shall hold any other office under the United States, 
or any of them ; nor shall any officer appointed by Congress 
or by the President and Senate of the United States, be per- 
mitted to hold any office under the appointment of any of 
the states. 

17. As a traffic tending to establish or continue the 
slavery of any part of the human species is disgraceful to 
the cause of liberty and humanity; that Congress shall, as 
soon as may be promote and establish such laws and regula- 
tions as may effectually prevent the importation of slaves of 
every description, into the United States. 

[8. That the state legislatures have power to recall, when 
they think it expedient, their federal senators and to send 
others in their stead. 



2i6 RHODE ISLAND AND THE UNION [334 

19. That Congress have power to establish a uniform rule 
of inhabitancy or settlement of the poor of different states, 
throughout the United States. 

20. That Congress erect no company with exclusive ad- 
vantages of commerce. 

21. That when two members, shall move, or call for the 
yeas and nays on any question, they shall be entered on the 
journal of the houses respectively. 

Done in Convention at Newport, in the county of New- 
port, in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Planta- 
tions, the 29th day of May, in the year of our Lord, one 
thousand seven hundred and ninety, and the fourteenth year 
of the independence of the United States of America. 

By order of the Convention : signed, 

Daniel Owen, President. 

Attest, Daniel Updike, Secretary. 



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Acts and Laws of His Majesty's Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Planta- 
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Acts and Laws of His Majesty's Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Planta- 
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Acts and Laws of the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Planta- 
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Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly of Rhode Island. Original MS. 
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American Archives, Fourth Series. A Documentary History of the English 
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American Museum, The. Edited by Matthew Carey. 12 vols. Philadelphia, 
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American State Papers. Documents Legislative and Executive of the Congress of 
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Ames, Fisher, Works of. Edited by Seth Ames. 2 vols. Boston, 

Annals of Congress. The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United 
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Plantations. 2 vols. New York, 1859-7S. 

335] -'7 



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Bacon, Matthew. A New Abridgment of the Law. 5 vols. Fourth Edition. 

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Documents Relating to the Colonial History of New York. Edited by E. B* 

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VITA. 



Frank Greene Bates was born at Shawomet in the town 
of Warwick, Rhode Island His preparatory education was 
acquired in the English and Classical school (formerly Mowry 
and Goff's) at Providence, R. I. He entered Cornell Univer- 
sity, and graduated in 1 891 with the degree of Bachelor of 
Letters. He taught for a year at Billerica, Mass. After a 
short course at the Boston University Law School, he returned 
to Cornell University in September, 1893, f° r graduate work 
in history. In 1894 he was appointed examiner in American 
History there, and in the following year was elected Fellow in 
American History. During the year 1896-7, he was Uni- 
versity Fellow in American History at Columbia University. 
While at Columbia he was under the instruction of Pro- 
fessors Osgood, Burgess, Dunning, Robinson and Goodnow, 
and was a member of the seminar in American Colonial His- 
tory. He is a member of the American Historical Associa- 
tion, and has read papers before various historical societies. 
In June, 1897, Mr. Bates was elected Instructor in History 
and Political Science in Alfred University. In June, 1898, 
he was promoted to the rank of Assistant Professor in the 
same institution. 

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